Solar Halo
by InAthena'sCabin
Summary: During the months she spent grieving over Edward, Bella hadn't realized that there was even more she was missing. When she gets an unexpected visit, the pieces start to go together, but with what price? And there's still someone wishing for vengeance.
1. Preface

**Hello darlings! Welcome to a trip led by Athena's Cabin! Yet again I will produce something unrealistically awesome for you to read. Okay, that was today's extremely funny opening line. Please note the sarcasm.**

**Anyway, this has been written for you, and you only, dear readers (and a bit for me, cuz I really enjoy writing this!), so reviews are much appreciated! **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Twilight. It's still the property of Stephenie Meyer, which is a miracle considering how many people there are in this world that would love to own the rights for this amazing piece of literature. **

**But without further ado, please let me present to you: Solar Halo! Enjoy!**

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><p>Solar Halo<p>

Preface

We've all had nightmares. I personally find the ones most terrifying, where you need to run, run for your life, but the harder you try, the heavier your limbs become and you just cannot make yourself move fast enough. But there's the thing about nightmares, that when things seem the most dark, that there's no way you could make it in time, you wake up and realize that it was all a dream. You're probably drenched with sweat, but at least you're safe, and there's no need to run. But for me, it was real. My legs felt weak, as I tried desperately to push my way through the crowd and to the other side of the square. I felt useless, fighting against the crowd, which I could never get through of.

But I wasn't running for my own life this time. If I did, I wouldn't have been this ashamed. I could just stop and let death take me. But now it was someone else's life I was running for. Now, I know what you think; that I'm running for the life of my beloved one. You're wrong. That's not the case. But I have caused this to happen and I have to make things right.

In fact, my beloved one was safe, or at least I though so.

As the clock started to toll the hour, I felt like all hope was gone. I had advanced a great deal through the crowd, but there were still too many people between me and him. The situation wouldn't be so hopeless if Alice was here, but unfortunately there was no way for her to come to this sunny square unnoticed. That left me to be the only one who could try to get there in time. Alone. And I was too slow.

I didn't know what to do if I failed. How could I ever look at Alice, or any of the Cullens in that matter? Could I possibly face the grief in their expressions. Or could I live with myself when I knew this was all my fault? So I guessed it was good that there were bloodthirsty enemies lurking about. Maybe they could finish me off and take the shame off me.

But I couldn't give up. There were things that were too important for me to lose. I had to try. But the clock kept tolling, and the sun was at its highest peak. It was midday, and I was inevitably late.


	2. Unexpected

**I don't have much to say, so I'll just let you read the first real chapter! You're welcome.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Twilight. All copyrights are in possession of Stephenie Meyer.**

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><p>Chapter 1 - Unexpected<p>

Just make a mental note to yourself never ever to try cliff jumping. I had almost survived my own experience of it, and afterwards I didn't feel exhilarated or brave or anything. I felt wet and cold, and my whole body was sore. Luckily Jacob had been there to save me. And I was glad beyond measure that he had offered to drive me home. My truck was nice and warm, but right now it didn't feel warm enough, as my body was fighting hypothermia. I shivered and Jacob pulled me closer to his side. A shaky sigh slipped out of my mouth as I gladly let his toasty body warm mine.

"Already glad that I'm a wolf, huh?" Jake smiled, never taking his eyes off the road. I nodded, even though he couldn't see it.

"Definitely. It must be nice not to worry about getting cold," I said, pressing my cold nose against Jacob's shoulder.

"Yeah, it has its pros. I bet some couldn't possibly make you warm like this," he said and laughed.

I felt a jolt in my stomach when I realized what he was talking about. I had asked him not to talk about _them_ but he slipped occasionally. But even one slip did enough damage. After the Cullens had left Forks, I'd gone absolutely miserable. I missed them so much; Esme, Carlisle, Jasper, Emmett, even Rosalie and her icy looks. Alice, my best friend in the whole wide world. But what hurt the most was that I missed Edward more than anything. He had been my whole life, my love, and he left me. Alone.

Luckily Jacob had been there to comfort me and to be my friend when my friends at school hadn't done much to make me feel better. I couldn't blame them though, I had been like the dead for the past months.

Without noticing it myself, my face had twisted into a grimace, and I had wrapped my arms around myself like I always did when someone or something reminded me about the Cullens. I glanced at Jake, who looked ashamed of himself.

"Sorry, Bella. I didn't mean to bring that up," he said with an apologetic look. Or at least his profile looked apologetic.

"It's alright, Jake," I muttered.

We were soon at my house. Jacob stopped the engine when he had pulled over onto our driveway. Suddenly he tensed and sniffed the air. The hair on my neck stood up, this time not from the cold. Was there something wrong?

"Jake? What is it?" I asked. I was very close to panicking. When his eyes narrowed into slits of hatred.

"There's a vampire in here," Jake growled and started the engine again. He was just about to pull off our driveway when I saw a familiar-looking car parked along the street, in front of our house. A very familiar black Mercedes...

"Jacob, stop the car!" I cried as I jumped upright on my seat. They were here. That was Carlisle's car.

"No, Bella, I have to get you away from here!" Jacob protested and backed away from the driveway.

"Jacob, no! It's them! It's safe. They won't hurt me," I tried, but Jacob didn't listen.

I opened my seatbelt, pushed my door open and hopped out of the truck. I fell straight onto my back on the pavement, but I didn't care. For the first time in months, I felt a tinge of hope. Jacob stopped the engine again and I heard him open the door. I stood up as quickly as possible and started to make my way towards the front door. Suddenly someone grabbed my arm from behind me.

"Bella, it's a trap! You can't go inside. It could be the redhead!" Jake shouted but I pushed him back with all my strength, which was very little in my condition now.

"It's their car! It's safe. Let me go!" I yelled back at him and increased my speed.

"You're about to cross a line, Bella," Jacob growled. I turned to face him.

He stood there, with a stern face, his shoulders wide, and legs apart, just like before he phased. I could see tremors running down his body as his anger started to build up. But I wasn't going to let that prevent me from seeing them, or whoever from their family would be there.

"Then don't draw a line," I said, turned my back at him, and walked to the door. My fingers shaky from the creeping hypothermia, I grabbed the spare key from its hideout, and opened the door.

I was scared out of my mind by the most gorgeous being in the entire world. Inside my house, standing beside a small side table that often held Charlie's keys and wallet, was a beautiful, pale-faced creature, her eyes black as onyx, and her stunning face framed with a halo of pitch-black hair.

My heart took off like never before. I didn't care if she had left me, and I did not care about the fact that she was a vampire and that her skin would make me even colder. I ran across the hall and threw my arms around my best friend.

"Alice!" I squealed. "I missed you so much!"

She didn't answer me, so I pulled away from her. Her body was tense, and as I recognized that her eyes were, indeed, black, I took a few steps away.

"I'm so sorry, Alice. I'm just so happy you're here," I rushed to apologize. Stupid, stupid me, always making the best things that ever came across me feel uncomfortable.

"It's okay, Bella. I just haven't been in close contact with humans in quite a time. And I've always thought you smell good anyway," Alice said, her posture a bit more relaxed now.

Hearing her speak brought tears into my eyes. I haven't heard her voice in such a long time. I had almost forgotten how wonderful it sounded. The words coming from her mouth chimed like silvery bells. I blinked and a few tears fell on my cheek. Suddenly I was held by two slender, but unnaturally strong arms.

"Don't cry, Bella. It's okay now," Alice crooned into my ear.

"Sorry, it wasn't my intention to go all cry-baby on you," I muttered back, leaning my forehead on her shoulder. I smelled her sweet scent, which had grown really strong to me, since I hadn't seen her in ages, so being unable to smell her.

"Shh, don't worry. But I think you have some explaining to do, no?" Alice said and pulled away slightly, just enough for me to see her face.

"Huh?" I let out an unintelligible sound. I had no clue of what she was talking about.

"Well first of all, would you kindly explain to me how you're _alive_?" she asked, shaking my shoulders slightly.

Then it hit me. Of course, she had seen me jump.

"Yeah, you jumped off a cliff, remember?" she said sarcastically. "What the hell were you thinking, Bella? Think about Charlie. Think about -"

"Jacob had introduced me to this new game. Cliff jumping. It's... fun," I interrupted Alice's flow of words.

Alice raised her eyebrow. "Fun? Seems suicidal to me."

"I wasn't trying to kill myself, I swear. I just thought it'd be fun, but I didn't realize the currents were so strong. Luckily Jake saved me," I said, trying to convince her. Nonetheless, she looked suspicious.

"I didn't see you being rescued," she said, eyeing me. "Why is that?" she asked, not necessarily addressing the question to me, but more to herself.

I shivered again. The closeness of Alice's icy body was getting the best of me.

"You're cold," said Alice. That wasn't a question.

She led me to the living room, made me sit on the sofa, and said: "Now sit here for a second," and then she was out of sight. She was back in a matter of seconds though, holding a pile of warm, dry clothes and blankets.

"Clothes. Off. Now," she ordered, pointing at my wet clothes. I looked at her, a bit embarrassed. I didn't want to take off my clothes with her watching, mostly because my body could never hold a candle to hers.

"Now, Bella, you're just being silly. I've seen you without clothes numerous times, remember?" Alice said, a smile twitching on her lips.

She was right, of course. She had helped me shower after I'd come home from being on the run from James about a year back, wrapped up in bandages. There was no point in arguing with her, so I obediently shrugged out of my wet clothes, and with some help from Alice, changed into a pair of slacks, a jumper, and woolly socks. Alice brought me a steaming cup of hot chocolate (no, I have no clue when she'd managed to make it) and told me to drink it. It was amazing, I have to admit. The warmness of it made me raspy throat sing hallelujah. Alice smiled as I sighed after finishing the drink. She took the cup away from me and ordered me to lie down. Then she covered me with blankets and sat down on the sofa so that my head was on her lap. Even though her skin was hard, her lap was extremely comfortable.

After those essential things to make me feel better, Alice and I started to chat, just like we'd done many times before they'd left. She asked me about how my school was going, to which I truthfully answered that it went well, since I hadn't had much of a life outside of school. She winced when I told her that, as if she'd been pinched.

"You okay, Alice?" I asked, concerned.

She smiled at me and stroked my hair. "I'm alright," she said, with a hint of sadness in her melodious voice.

I wanted to ask her about Edward, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to know the answer or not. Would it just make me feel worse? I looked at Alice, who had turned into a statue, gazing into the space in front of her. Was she having a vision?

My question was answered when Alice spoke up. Actually, both of my questions.

"I saw you deciding to ask me about my brother," she said slowly. "No, I haven't seen him since New Years. He only checks in once in a few months. He says that he wants to be alone."

There was some emotion in her voice that I couldn't recognize. I felt bad for being the reason why the Cullens never saw Edward, and that they had left in the first place.

"You know, Bella, I'm no emotion reader like Jasper," Alice said softly, "But it would seem like you are feeling sad. Care to share?"

This is why I loved Alice with my whole heart. There wasn't any friend who was as caring, loyal, and fun as her. I was lucky beyond any measure for having such a person as my best friend. I had missed her so much.

"It's just that I'm sorry for being the reason why you had to completely start your lives over. And because of me, you hardly ever see Edward," I whispered, afraid that my voice would break.

Alice took both my hands in hers.

"Bella, now listen to me, and listen good. All of this was no one's fault. We've all gone our own ways. The rest of us just see each other more frequently than we see Edward. And I'm here now," she said, reached to stroke my cheek once and returned her hand where it had been, holding mine.

I don't know why, but my cheek was left burning from her touch. Had I grown so unfamiliar with affection?

"Alice?" I said after a moment of silence.

"Yes?"

"Thanks for coming back. I missed you tonnes," I said and smiled, another tremor shaking my whole body.

Alice answered my smile with a faint one. "I missed you too," she said, and then added something under her breath, which was too quiet and fast for me to comprehend. I wonder what that was.

She gently lifted my head up from her lap and stood up, putting a pillow under my head instead. Before I could protest she said: "You're cold, and I need to hunt. It's better for us both that I leave for a while."

I couldn't believe she was going to leave me again. My brow puckered and Alice knelt beside the sofa and ruffled my hair.

"I'm going to be away for an hour, silly Bella," she said. "Just try to get some sleep, and I'll be back in no time."

I nodded. "Alright, but hurry back," I muttered. Alice planted a little kiss on my cheek and danced gracefully out of the living room.

If my cheek had been burning then, my whole face was on fire now. Why did my body react like this to completely normal, friendly things? Had I turned into such a shut-in? No, couldn't be. I'd become close friends with Jake. Jacob... He'd been so mad at me when I'd left him outside. I wondered if he ever wanted to talk to me again. I felt bad about myself again. Jacob had done so much for me. He had made it all brighter, like my own little sun. He'd helped me to get over the pain, even though he occasionally slipped and reminded me about the Cullens. Lately, I had noticed that I didn't spend so much time crying over my lost love. It was more like crying over a family I'd lost. And my best friend. Come to think of it, I had missed her the most. I'd realized that when she had shown up. When I saw her, I noticed how hollow and empty I had been. When the hole in my chest was fixed, I had seen how big it had actually been. Now with Alice here, I felt light. Lighter than Jacob had ever made me feel.

On these thoughts, I drifted to sleep.

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><p>When I woke up, the first thing I noticed was that my head was higher than it was when I'd fallen asleep. I moved my head and noticed that there was no pillow anymore, and that it had been replaced by a pair of slender thighs.<p>

"Good morning, Sunshine!" came a clear, high pitched greeting from above me.

"Hi," I let a feeble answer get out of my mouth. I realized that my throat wasn't as painful anymore.

"Feel any better?" Alice asked and I opened my eyes to see honey-coloured eyes stare at me.

I nodded slightly and came to notice that Alice had wrapped a soft scarf around my neck. I couldn't help but think about how sweet she really was.

"Yeah, surprisingly so. Thanks for the scarf," I said and touched the piece of clothing wrapped around my neck.

Alice grinned in response. "No biggie. I've seen humans do that when they are cold, so I figured I'd do that. I want you to get well soon after all," she said.

Then something occurred to me.

"Hey, Alice, where's Charlie?" I asked. I looked at the clock on the wall. It was half-past-eight. Charlie had been here, slept the night, and gone to work by now.

"He went to work," Alice said.

"What did you tell him?" I asked, wondering how Charlie had reacted when he'd found Alice in his living room with me sleeping on the sofa.

"I just said that you had been on the beach and slipped on some rocks and fallen in," she smiled. "A very good excuse when _you_ are in question, don't you think?" she tapped my nose lightly on the word _you_.

"Ha ha, very funny," I said and pouted.

"Oh, don't be like that, silly. You know I'm just playing with you," Alice said, lifted my head up and stood up herself.

"Can I interest you in some soup, miss?" she asked and curtsied. I rolled my eyes at her.

"Soup? Umm, sure?" I answered, not sure what there was waiting for me. I never knew Alice could cook anything.

Alice laughed her melodious laugh. "Don't worry, Bella. I'm a great cook. You just haven't tasted my stuff yet," she said, winked, and walked to the kitchen.

I was left with a weird feeling in my stomach. Something about what she had said, combined with the wink made me feel uneasy, but in a way I had already forgotten. A good way, a happy way. I shrugged off the thought of her winking at me and concentrated my eyes and mind on today's paper, that was left on the sofa table.

"Your breakfast is served, ma'am," Alice called from the kitchen door and she carried a tray with a steaming bowl of soup to me. I sat up and she placed the tray on my lap. The soup smelled absolutely wonderful. But while I thought about that, a voice inside my head reminded me about the fact that Alice smelled even better. What the heck was going on inside my head? My thoughts had gotten so... random.

"Well?" Alice asked, cocking her head to the side.

I blinked. "What?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"Aren't you going to taste it?" she asked, the corners of her mouth pulling down a bit. I wasn't sure if she was faking it or if I had actually hurt her feelings by not tasting the soup right away, so I grabbed the spoon she was offering me and took a careful sip. The soup was hot, but it tasted utterly delicious.

"It's amazing, Alice. Wow, where have you learned to cook?" I complimented her truthfully.

A smile appeared on Alice's face and she sat beside me on the sofa, wrapping her arm around my shoulders.

"Only the best for you. It's the least thing I can do after all you have gone through because of us," she said. "And I have had a lot of spare time in my life. I might have as well done something useful."

I stopped eating. How did she know how bad I had been while they'd been away? Nevertheless, I didn't like the way Alice blamed herself and her family. I put the spoon down and turned to face her.

"Don't say that. It wasn't your fault. You just said last night that it was no one's fault. Stick with that, will you?" I said seriously. "And how did you know that I've gone through stuff?" I added, since I wanted to know.

Alice sighed. "I talked with Charlie. He told me everything. I'm surprised he was so nice to me, because he made it seem like you were on the edge," she explained, her ocher eyes full of sadness. Why was she beating herself up over what happened?

"Well, it wasn't _that_ bad. I wasn't considering-"

"Don't try to lie to me, Bella. Charlie told me how sickly and hurt you were all the time. He told me how you woke up almost every night screaming your lungs out. Even now, I can see it. You haven't been eating, nor sleeping well. You haven't been alright, Bella. But I have come to do everything I can to fix it," Alice interrupted me, grabbing my shoulders lightly. "Don't tell me not to be sorry," she ended her speech.

After her little outburst, I sat there quietly, observing her eyes and the slight redness that started to form in them – tears that could never fall. I couldn't take it anymore. I wrapped my arms around her and let her sob into my shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, Bella. So, so sorry," she sobbed.

I didn't know why she was so harsh on herself, but in that moment I shared her grief, the same grief that had been inside me for months. I broke into tears myself, finally letting it all out after months of trying to gain numbness.

"Don't worry, Alice. It's okay, I forgive you," I sobbed back at her.

We spent a great deal of time just holding each other and crying. After that said great deal of time, Alice lifted her head off my shoulder. I met her gaze. Her eyes were glossy and pink. I could tell mine were at least ten times worse as hers, though.

This was new to me. I had never seen Alice this vulnerable before. She had always been the strong one and I had been a fragile, soft human. I had ruined many of her shirts with my tears. Now the situation was reversed. And I wanted to know why that was. But this was hardly the time, since she had just calmed down. I could wait for the answer.

I finished the soup, (which had gotten cold during our Niagara episode, but I didn't complain) and thanked Alice after finally putting my spoon down. While watching me eat, she had calmed down enough to smile and even try a bit of her 'I know I'm awesome' -sarcasm. I was glad she was back on track.

"Wanna watch a film?" I asked after Alice had taken my dishes into the kitchen.

"Yeah!" she squealed in delight. Apparently it was a long time since she'd had a girls' night. Well it was morning, but you know what I mean. From that thought, I had an idea.

"Hey, Alice, I have an idea," I said, already knowing that she would know exactly what I meant.

Just like I'd thought, she zoned out for a second and when she snapped out of it, she was grinning like never before.

"Of course I want to have a real sleepover!" she cried out and rocketed to hug me. "I thought you would never ask! You know how I enjoy sleepovers!"

I was glad that I had made her happy. But a tiny voice inside my head was even happier about the fact that her arms were still around me. Why? Had I been this desperately in need of seeing my best friend? I didn't know, but I let it be. As long as she would stay and keep me feeling this light, I didn't mind what absurdness would come along with it.

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><p><strong>You know guys, I really hope you enjoy reading my story. I really like writing it and it would be absolutely amazing if you'd just click that little review button and tell me what you think! <strong>

**Until next time,**

**Peace, love, Twilight,**

**Luv,**

**AC**


	3. A Puzzle

**Hello, my dearest readers!**

**Welcome back. I'm glad that you're reading this, because if no one did, it would beat the purpose of writing :) I'm hoping you enjoy reading my scribble. Without further ado, behold; the second chapter of Solar Halo!**

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><p><span>Chapter 2 - A Puzzle<span>

The rest of the day went by without much drama. After putting a movie into the DVD player, Alice and I curled up onto the sofa. I was wrapped inside a heap of blankets and Alice adjusted my position so that I could lean onto her comfortably. Both of us had seen "She's the Man" numerous times before, but we didn't care. It was still funny, all the same. I felt oddly elated during the movie; Alice wasn't the only one who hadn't had a real girls' night in ages.

I spent the whole day on the sofa. Not that I complained, since I was running a fever and my throat was still sore. Alice was a perfect nurse. She never left my side, except to get me some water, or food, or tea, or basically anything she thought would make me get better. When she was not running around the house to get me things, she sat on the sofa next to me and we talked. Apparently she had travelled a lot, and in the middle of travelling, she'd gone to search for traces of her human life.

"My whole name is Mary Alice Brandon," she told me. Mary Alice... I was secretly glad she had only remembered her middle name. Alice suited her far better.

"I was born in Biloxi, Mississippi in the beginning of the 20th century," Alice continued. "I had a sister named Cynthia, but she is dead now, obviously. After some research it became evident that she has a daughter, my niece. She's still alive in Biloxi. I also found out an interesting thing about my parents and the asylym I had been locked into."

"I think it's wonderful how you've managed to find information about your life. After all, you didn't remember anything about it," I said and smiled, earning a grin in response from Alice. "So, what was the thing about your parents and the asylum?"

Alice looked down to her hands. "After locking me up, my parents told everyone I had died. Apparently in some kind of an accident. I found my tombstone, and the date on it matches my admission date to the asylum," she explained, never looking up from her hands.

I couldn't believe it! How could her parents be so cruel that they would hide their own child and tell everyone she was dead? I touched Alice's hand lightly.

"Are you alright?" I asked softly. She nodded and sighed.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I don't care if my parents would've rather lied about my death than telling everyone their child was a lunatic. I have amazing parents now," she said, but somehow I didn't believe she wasn't bothered by that. I tried to lure her thoughts elsewhere.

"Did you see your niece?" I asked, hoping that would do the trick.

"I think I did," Alice said and met my gaze. "She is old, so I figured out in which facility for elderly people she lived in and one night I peeked through her window." A smile appeared on her face and I mentally congratulated myself for being able to distract her. I didn't want to see her sad.

We continued our talk in a positive atmosphere. Charlie came home around four p.m. and Alice gave him a bowlful of that amazing soup of hers. He had no objections to having Alice over for the night, or as many as she wished, so after changing news about our days with Charlie, Alice and I headed to my bedroom where we set a spare mattress for Alice, even though we both knew she wouldn't be needing it. Alice already had a suitcase full of clothes with her, so we were set for a proper sleepover, or as proper as a sleepover could get with vampires involved. I was in a good enough state to prepare a nice dinner for the three of us, which Alice politely refused to eat, because she "had become vegetarian" and so couldn't possibly eat my delicious chicken.

"You sure you won't starve?" Charlie asked, worried about how her parents would react if they ever found out that she hadn't gotten anything to eat at our house. Alice flashed a dazzling smile and nodded convincingly. That was enough for Charlie.

The dinner lasted long, because Charlie really wanted to catch up with Alice. They had talked the night before, but apparently they hadn't talked about Alice much; only about me. She told Charlie about the dozens of places she'd been to, and Charlie listened to her stories. It was evident that he really liked Alice, which I was glad of, because she was my best friend, and it would've been awful if he'd banned her from coming to our house because they left and made me all miserable. And since she was my best friend and I loved her dearly, I was getting worried about the fact that I felt a jolt in my stomach every time she smiled. Why did I feel these things? It was weird and stupid. Alice was my _friend_, whom I had been missing for the past few months, but I wasn't supposed to be feeling like this even though I'd missed her like crazy. I did not bat for the other team. Hell no.

After dinner it was already nine o'clock, so Charlie made his way towards his bedroom, wishing both me and Alice goodnight. Alice helped me do the dishes, and by nine-thirty, we were back in my bedroom. I left Alice there for a while, since I had to do my human stuff in the bathroom. I tried to shower as quickly as possible, not wanting to make Alice wait for me too long. I still couldn't believe she was here, and I didn't want to let her get out of my sight too often. I was afraid she would disappear. After the shower, I changed into my olde faithful holey T-shirt and sweats, and brushed my teeth. Finally when I'd toweled my hair, I left the bathroom and went back to Alice, who was bouncing excitedly on my bed, holding the spare pillow I'd set for her, just for comfortability's sake. I made my way towards the bed, but my feet, which were still a bit wet slipped on the hardwood flood and I lost my balance, flying backwards. I was waiting for a painful landing on my backside, and was happily surprised that it didn't come. Instead, I was caught in midair by the strong, slender arms of Alice. I slammed into her chest, which hurt a bit since she was hard as a rock, but much less than if I'd landed on the floor.

"Thanks," I said breathlessly.

I turned around, facing Alice, her arms still holding me, as if I would lose my balance the second she would let go of me. She grinned at my obviously frightened face.

"No problem," she said, still not letting go of me.

I looked into Alice's eyes, noticing how much they had gone lighter since she had gone hunting. Instead of black, they were golden brown. I didn't realize I'd spend a great deal of time gazing into those golden orbs of hers, until Alice cleared her throat.

"Earth calling Bella," she teased.

I blinked and laid my gaze down from her eyes. Unfortunately, I happened to look at her lips. She had painted them deep red today, which went so well with her pale skin and black hair. She was like Snow White from that fairy tale. And that's definitely where Alice was from – a fairy tale. How could anything real be so utterly beautiful?

"Bella, did you fall asleep already? Don't you dare, because we still have a lot to do!" Alice said and waved her hand in front of my face. I snapped out of my trance-like state and dropped my gaze to my toes this time, a blush creeping onto my cheeks. Oh, the embarrassment.

"Sorry," I muttered.

Alice chuckled. "It's alright. I'm irresistible, I know."

I nudged her with my elbow, earning a bruise on myself instead of her.

"And modest," I noted, and the awkward moment was over.

Both of us lounged onto my bed and Alice grabbed her pillow again, holding it to her chest and leaning her chin on it.

"So..." I trailed off when an awkward silence fell. What should we do now?

Suddenly Alice lifted her head up.

"Hey! I want to do your nails!" she exclaimed enthusiastically.

Oh my God, is this a nightmare? Please tell me this is a nightmare.

"Alice..." I whined, but she looked at me with puppy dog eyes.

"Bella pretty pleaaaaseee," she begged and crawled closer to me on her knees. "I haven't done your nails for so long. Please?"

She cocked her head to the side, keeping the same utterly adorable expression. I hung my head in defeat.

"Okay, but I get to pick the colour," I said, trying to retain some of my dignity.

Alice tackled me onto the bed, hugging me happily as she lay on top of me.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! You can pick the colour, I promise!" she babbled, let go of me and hopped off the bed.

I rose up to sit on the edge of the bed, watching as Alice rummaged through her bag, pulling out her makeup bag, and pajamas.

"Why the pajamas?" I asked. I was curious. How had she known to pack pajamas with her when she hadn't had a clue about us having a sleepover? She wouldn't need those in the first place, except to fool Charlie, so it was unnatural for her to carry them with her.

Alice carried her stuff onto the bed and sat beside me.

"You see, the reason why I'm here is to check if you are still alive, which you are. But as a precaution, I took my pajamas with me, so if by some miracle I had found you alive, which I did, we could actually have a sleepover," she reasoned. Well, that made sense to me.

"Clever."

"Yup, I'm cool like that," Alice giggled and emptied her makeup bag onto the bed.

I swear, I have never seen that many different coloured nail polishes in my entire life. I might have to explain that Alice's makeup bag is a bit bigger than makeup bags usually, just like her wardrobe. And this one was full of nail polishes.

"Okay, pick your colour," Alice commanded, "but just as a hint, I would pick yellow if I were you."

If this was a normal situation, I still would've tried to get away with no colourful nails, but at this point I just wanted Alice to be happy. To show my gratitude towards her being here, or something. Or was it gratitude I was feeling? Of course, I was thankful for her being here, but in the end, was the main emotion _gratitude_ exactly? What did I feel?

"Bella? Is something wrong?" Alice asked, concerned.

I blinked and eyed the variety of nail polishes.

"Umm, sorry. I'm fine. Just... zoned out, I guess. I'll take the yellow one," I said quickly.

Alice clapped her hands and squealed excitedly.

"Yayy! Okay, give me your hand," she said and grabbed my wrist.

It was like an electric current had been run through me. I had gotten used to Alice's icy touch, but this wasn't cold at all. It was warm and sudden, like an electric shock through my body. I jumped a bit at the feeling, but it was over as suddenly as it had come. Alice didn't seem to notice, although I'm sure she did, but she opened the bottle of canary yellow nail polish and started to paint my nails.

Painting my nails took a relatively big amount of time, considering that Alice was a vampire, and could've been able to do it in a matter of seconds. Instead, she kept the pace surprisingly humane. I guess she just enjoyed doing this kind of stuff. As if she had read my thoughts, she started to speak.

"You know, I love doing stuff like this," she said, while painting my thumbnail, "it makes me feel so human. It's nice to feel like it. Or at least I think being human feels like this. I wouldn't know for real, of course."

"Well, you can stay here and feel human for as long as you wish," I said and patted her head gently with my free hand. She smiled.

"Thank you, Bella. I can't emphasize enough how glad I am that you don't hate me for leaving you here alone. I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye," she said and took my other hand.

"Alice, how could I ever hate you? I mean, we're friends. Friends forgive, ok?" I said, but something about saying 'friends' felt wrong. Like there was a better word, a more prominent one.

"I'm so happy to have you as my friend, Bella," Alice said and looked quickly at me from beneath her eyelashes. Then she went back to work with my nails.

"Me, too," I said. I couldn't figure out what else to say.

After finishing my nails, I wasn't sure what to do. I hadn't been prepared for a sleepover, neither of us hadn't, so we lacked a plan. But since we hadn't seen each other in quite some time, we decided to play 20 questions. Alice started.

"Have you found any new interesting music?" she asked. A basic question, with a basic answer.

"No. I haven't been listening to music much," I said, quite truthfully. I didn't tell that the reason that I hadn't listened to music was because every piece of music reminded me about Edward.

"Have you?" I asked back, trying to keep the questions as normal as possible, without much awkwardness.

Alice's eyes lit. "Yes! I took an interest in playing the piano over the months. I'm pretty good, I dare say!" she smiled. I could see she liked her new hobby. On the other hand, I was surprised. I was surprised about how little this news made me think about Edward. I was supposed to be curled up in a ball right now. Why wasn't I? What had happened?

"You look confused, Bella. What's up?" Alice asked.

"Is this one of your questions?" I asked back, slyly.

She rolled her eyes. "Sure, but please, answer me."

I sighed. I hadn't been planning to bring this subject up with Alice. Especially now with the absurd feelings that had come so unexpectedly.

"I was just thinking about how piano used to remind me of Edward, but when you just mentioned it, I didn't feel like I usually do. I usually feel like there's a hole that's been punched through my chest. Now, I just felt normal," I explained. Alice was my friend, I could tell her everything. Anything at all, I knew she would listen to me.

"Is that a good, or a bad thing?" she asked, examining my face, as if trying to find the answer from my face. Or my future.

"I don't know what I think. I'm a bit confused." _Confused because I keep thinking what would be a better word for mine and Alice's relationship than 'friends.'_

"I'm sure you'll figure things out eventually. You'll see," Alice said and touched my arm. As I had expected, her touch tingled there after she took her hand away.

"I assume it's your turn now, then," she said and motioned towards me.

"Okay, hmm..." I said, trying to think of a good question. Luckily, I came up with one fairly quickly.

"How's Jasper? You haven't talked about him much. Is he alright?" I asked.

I hadn't noticed it until now, that Alice hadn't said anything about her mate, her other half. I was under the impression that a mate would be something rather important. And you usually talk about stuff that are important to you. Go figure. Alice tensed slightly. I could still see how her jaw clenched, the way it did when she tried to fight the urge to bite a human. Usually that was because of me. She relaxed after a second, and answered me:

"We haven't seen each other in ages. The last time we met was when our whole family was invited to Denali, Alaska. There's a coven of vegetarian vampires living there. They are really close friends of ours, almost like cousins of sorts. We call each other occasionally, and I think he's doing fine."

I was shocked by how lightly Alice told me that she hadn't seen her mate in a long time. I would've been devastated if I was her! I actually _was_ devastated when the Cullens left. Not seeing Edward had been horrible. Luckily Jacob helped me, and got my mind off things. No, wait. Not all things. I was sucked into a memory of mine.

_Jacob and I had been riding our motorcycles the entire day. We were muddy and I had scraped my knee. When we went back to the Blacks', Jake had put a band-aid on the wound. Then we made hot chocolate and sat around their kitchen table, laughing and drinking. _

"_I'm so glad I get to spend time with you, Bella," Jacob said. "Back then, I never saw you unless dad came over to yours to see Charlie."  
>That made me think. Yes, I spent all my time with Edward. I compared the two; riding motorcycles with Jacob, and talking and watching movies with Edward. Which was more fun? Then, a third option came to my mind. When I hadn't been with Edward, I had hung out with Alice. It was that thought that made me bend over, and clutch my stomach, like I usually did when someone mentioned anything Cullen-related. I missed my best friend.<em>

"Is that how I look when I have a vision?" Alice asked and tilted her head to the side goofily.

I blinked. "Sorry, I had a flashback," I said and shook my head slightly. My head was full of puzzle pieces that just couldn't find a way to lock in together.

"You seem really tired, you know. Maybe you should get some sleep. You are still a bit sick after all. I can feel your increased warmth," Alice said and jumped off the bed.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm gonna change into my P-J's. Think about what Charlie would think if he saw I'd worn these clothes the whole night. Now turn around," she said and I turned my back at her to give her privacy.

After two seconds I felt someone tap my shoulder, and as I turned around, Alice was sitting on the bed next to me. She was dressed up in her blue-and-white-striped tank top and navy blue shorts, which she used as pajamas. I looked enviously at her legs. It hardly seemed fair that some people were so stunning, whereas some weren't.

"Do you need anything before going to bed? Water? Food? Medicine?" Alice asked. Bless her, my dearest nurse.

I shook my head. "No, I'm fine. You should try working for Carlisle at some point. You'd make a great nurse," I laughed.

"A relatively good idea, but I couldn't take all that blood. I'd go berserk!" Alice said and chuckled.

I pulled the blanket out of my way and lay down. Alice then pulled it on me, tucking me in tenderly. She was just about to leave my bed, when I grabbed her hand, not wanting her to leave.

"What is it, Bella?" Alice asked, confused.

I wasn't sure what to ask, because the one thing I wanted the most felt too awkward to ask for.

"Umm, I was just wondering..." I started, already feeling a blush waiting to reveal itself in all its glory.

"Yes?" Alice asked, even more confused. It was refreshing, to see her confused like this, since she never was, due to her ability to see what was going to happen.

"Would you possibly... errm... stay with me tonight?" I asked, and felt my face blush scarlet. The question had sounded awkward inside my head, but put into words like this, it was ten times more awkward.

What I didn't expect was that Alice's face melted into a wide smile.

"Just a moment, I'll switch off the lights," she said, danced to the light switch, and came back, hopping onto my bed.

I rolled onto my left so that I could see Alice, and she lay down beside me, facing me. I couldn't see her face clearly, since it was very dark, but her pale white skin had a luminous tinge into it, and it reflected some of the street lamp light coming through my drawn curtains. I yawned, so deep that I could feel a tear trickling down my nose. When it reached the tip, Alice caught it with a quick movement and wiped her hand on her top.

"Alice?" I asked in the darkness.

"Yes?" came the answer.

"I'm happy that you came. Thank you."

There was a silence, during which I could feel Alice's body getting closer to mine, and her arm wrapping around my shoulders, behind my head.

"I'm happy as well. I missed you," she said then, whispering the words into my ear, her lips almost brushing against my earlobe.

I snuggled my forehead against her shoulder and breathed in her scent. I could feel my eyelids drooping, but I tried to force them stay open. Talking to Alice was much too fun. The time I got to spend with her shouldn't be wasted. She, however, stroked my hair with her free hand (the one that wasn't wrapped around me), and said:

"You really should get some sleep. You'll get better faster."

It had been such a long time since anyone had actually stayed with me the whole night, and stroked my hair until I fell asleep. The motion of Alice's hand on my head was soothing, and almost instantly I found myself falling towards unconsciousness. But just before I was about to lose my idea of reality, I felt a set of icy lips on my cheek, and a delicate voice whispered:

"Goodnight, Bella. I hope you'll finally dream happy dreams again."

That was the moment when everything fell into place. The puzzle pieces finally fit. All the awkwardness, the butterflies in my stomach; they all had tried to tell me something. About something I could've never even considered before. I had been so obsessed with grieving over Edward, that I didn't see it. But despite my own obliviousness and denial, I could see it now. My eyes were open to the truth that had been lurking in the shadows, just waiting for someone to show me the light and guide me towards it.

For just before unconsciousness took me, I realized it:

I was in love with Alice Cullen.

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><p><strong>Please, tell me what you think. Any comments? Corrections? Requests? What do you guys want to see in the future? Tune in next time to see what I have in store for you!<strong>

**Until then,**

**Peace, love, Twilight!**

**Luv,**

**AC**


	4. Disturbance

**Hello again! I was quite happy to see how many have added me to their alert lists. Things like this really get me going. Keep those reviews up! It's always nice to get critique. Positive or negative. Be honest with me. I want to improve my writing for mine, and also for you guys' sake. So, let's move along to the third chapter!**

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><p><span>Chapter 3 - Disturbance<span>

When I woke up, I was alone, and almost panicked. Had Alice left me? Why wasn't she here? Luckily, there wasn't enough time for my anxiety to get the best of me, for my bedroom door opened a few seconds later and a black-haired head pushed through it.

"Morning, Sunshine!" Alice greeted me with a smile on her face. She entered the room carrying a tray full of food; cereal, yoghurt, bread, orange juice... I think she'd grabbed basically everything to make sure there was something I would like to have for breakfast.

Alice looked at me, examining my face as she laid the tray on my bed.

"Something wrong? You look confused," she asked concernedly.

I shook my head. "No, I was just scared for a moment when you weren't here when I woke up," I explained.

Alice rolled her eyes. "Silly Bella, as if I'd leave you again without saying goodbye. I think I promised you something like that yesterday."

I nodded. She had promised so, and I was glad. I eyed the tray she'd brought. The food looked delicious, and I actually felt hungry. I wasn't so sick anymore, I could feel that. I'd gotten my appetite back.

"Would you like to eat?" Alice asked, seeing how I stared at the tray. I nodded.

Alice picked up the tray and put it down on my legs. I wasn't sure about where to start. She had even fried me an egg.

"Alice, why did you bring me this much stuff?" I asked. She shrugged in response.

"I didn't know what you'd like to eat, so I just brought everything," she said. "So, did you sleep well?"

I took a sandwich into my hands and nodded. "Yeah, I did," I said, and took a huge bite.

Alices face melted into a warm smile. "I'm glad. Charlie said that you haven't been sleeping that well lately," she said. Of course Charlie would've mentioned that. But what I was sure of was that it had been the presence of Alice that had made me sleep that soundly. Suddenly I got a flashback, but this one was only from last night.

_I was just about to fall asleep when Alice whispered into my ear, wishing I'd sleep happily. And I'd realized..._

I shot a glance towards Alice, who was tapping the surface of my bed with her long nails. A mix of emotions filled me. Confusion, hell yes; fear, definitely; but the most prominent emotion was the unconditional affection I felt for my pixie-like friend. There was no way around this. I was in love. But how could this be? I had always been straight. I had never even considered that I would go and fall in love with a girl. Of course, I could see why someone would love Alice. I mean, what's not to like? She was caring, funny, outgoing, and definitely the most gorgeous girl there is. But I'd never felt any attraction towards her, like romance-wise. Now, however...

"Bella?" Alice asked. "You've been spacing out a lot lately. Are you sure everything's alright?"

I pondered that for a moment. Was everything alright? I looked at Alice, who was seemingly concerned about my well-being. I nodded. Everything was fine, if she wouldn't leave me.

"Yeah, I'm just a bit drowsy still," I assured her.

I couldn't eat all of the food Alice had brought me, there was so much of it. When I'd finished my sandwich and the bowl of cereal, I was completely full.

"You done?" Alice asked when I forced down the last drops of my orange juice.

"Yeah, thank you, Alice. It was amazing," I said and wiped my mouth onto a napkin.

"Aww, no biggie, honey. It was the least I could do," she said and ruffled my hair. Then she took up the tray and quickly dropped it onto my desk. In a fraction of a second, she was sitting next to me on the bed, playing with my fingers. My heart took off at the feel of her fingers moving mine randomly.

"So, do you want to get out of bed? We could actually do something. Or do you still want to rest?" she asked.

I was thrilled to get out of bed, and I realized that I would need to tidy myself up a bit. I must have a horrible morning breath. A blush of shame flew onto my cheeks.

"What is it now?" Alice asked. "Why are you blushing?"

I could feel my blush deepen as I said:

"I need to clean up. I have a morning breath."

Alice burst into laughter.

"You're such a human, Bella!" she giggled. "And you should know that I don't think your breath smells bad at all. In fact, I think you smell wonderful at all times."

If there was any way my blush could get any deeper, it would. I decided not to humiliate myself any further, so I jumped off my bed, took my bag of toiletries, and walked out of the room. I marched straight into the bathroom, where I combed my hair and brushed my teeth. When I was done with my teeth, Alice popped her head inside the bathroom. I saw she had already changed into her normal clothes.

"Umm, guess what, Bella?" she said, her tone tense.

"Yeah?" I asked and wiped remains of toothpaste from my face.

"Someone wants to see you," she answered, and I recognized her voice to be bitter, instead of tense. What was going on?

I asked Alice that, but she refused to tell me. "It's better that you come and see yourself," she said, took my hand, and dragged me out of the bathroom.

"Alice, I need to change first," I reminded her as she was about to take me to the stairs. She stopped abruptly.

"Oh, yeah," she said and pulled me to my room instead.

When in my room, she rushed to my wardrobe, sighed at my lack of fashionable clothing, and pulled out a pair of jeans, a jumper, and underwear (latter of which made me blush violently).

"Why can't you just tell me what the problem is?" I asked as Alice handed me the said clothes.

"Your guest asked me not to," she said. "Now change, please." She tried to keep her tone calm, but didn't succeed very well.

I didn't question her orders, I just acted. Luckily Alice gave me privacy while I changed. In the light of recent realizations from my part, having Alice see me naked was the last thing I wanted.

"Okay, I'm done," I said as I'd finally slipped the jumper on.

Alice turned on her heels and grabbed my hand again, pulling me out of my room.

"Alice, why are you so tense?" I asked. She stopped for a moment, looked at me and said:

"Sorry, I just can't...see," trying to regain her composure.

Then she dragged me downstairs, and to the living room. Lounged on the sofa was the burly figure of my former best friend. Whether or not he still was, I wasn't sure. Last time we'd seen each other had ended in a rather stormy manner.

"Jacob!" I called and walked to him. Alice let go of my hand reluctantly, which I found tremendously appealing.

Jacob lifted his head up and looked at me. His expression was like carved of stone. Never changing.

"I had to see if you were safe. I hadn't heard of you since," he said, glancing at Alice for a fraction of a second.

"Well the last thing I would do is to hurt her, mutt!" Alice snapped.

My heart gave a jolt at that. Hearing Alice actually say that she would never hurt me... It made me feel safe, and not worried about what would ever happen between us two.

"Yeah, you're just a harmless vamp, aren't you, leech?" Jacob sneered at her and stood up.

"She happens to be my friend!" Alice said and took a step towards Jacob.

I stood helplessly between the two, not really knowing whether to try and stop an inevitable fight, or just run for it. Jake started to shake a bit, just like he did when he got irritated. I slowly took an instinctive step back, away from Jacob, and suddenly I was pulled backwards, into a protective embrace. If the situation was any different I would've concentrated hard to feel every inch of Alice that was pressed against my back, the feel of her arms, so slim but powerful, wrapped around me. I would've noticed how her breath tickled the back of my neck as she let out a feral snarl that sent shivers down my spine. If the situation was less tense, I would've understood that all those times when I'd tried to hold myself together, I was missing this set of arms around me. I was too weak to hold myself together. I needed a stronger being to hold me. But like I said, this was hardly the place to concentrate, notice, or understand.

Jacob took another step forward. I could feel Alice's arms hold me tighter as she didn't move from our position with her standing behind me, her arms wrapped around my stomach.

"Hands off her you filthy bloodsucker! You don't know anything about friendship. I bet your cold, lifeless heart can't even feel anything," he growled.

Call it stupidity, call it chivalry, call it what you want, but I had to say something to this.

"Jacob, don't talk to her like that," I said, trying to sound firm, but it came out as a pathetic whimper.

"Bella, it's okay, I can handle this," Alice whispered in my ear, pressing her cold cheek against my neck.

"Cullen, just remember the treaty," Jacob warned.

Alice let out another snarl. "Do you actually think that I'd bite her? Suck the life out of her? Are you that dumb?" she asked, her every single word dripping with fury.

"Alice, don't get him upset. He'll attack you," I whispered. "Let me talk to him, please."

Alice brought her lips to my ear. "Are you insane? I still think you are suicidal. I won't leave you alone with him! What do you think I'd do if he attacked you?" she whispered back to me.

"Don't listen to a word she says, Bella. She's trying to turn you against me. Remember who saved you from the ocean. Do you think I'd hurt you? And where was your precious Alice then, hmm?" Jacob said. "Yes, she'd left you, just like the other Cullens."

Alice hissed and Jake growled in response.

"Please, Alice, let me go. I need to talk to him," I said, trying to turn around so that I could face Alice.

She let me move, and I caught her eye. Her eyes had turned black from hatred and they shot flaming arrows towards Jacob. Ever so slowly, I lifted my shaky hand to brush a strand of hair off her face. Her eyes turned to me and the icy black softened a little.

"Alice, listen to me. It's going to be okay," I said to her. "Just give me ten minutes with him."

Alice frowned but loosened her grip around my waist.

"Ten minutes. Then I'll come back. And if that mutt is still inside, I will throw him out," she said and walked away, through the front door.

I turned to face Jacob, who was still shaking, but not so much anymore.

"So, why are you here?" I asked, eyeing Jake suspiciously.

"Like I said, I wanted to see if you're safe," he said. "But I guess I don't have to care anymore. After all, you have Alice here now to protect you."

I didn't want to listen to another word he said. I didn't want to hear him being so sad, so broken. And it was all because of me.

"Jacob," I said softly and took a few steps towards him. "Don't say things like that."

"Why do you care, Bella? You just got your dear bloodsucker back. Why don't you just forget me and we'll go back to how we used to be?" Jake asked.

"I don't want to go back to never seeing you," I replied. "You have done so much for me. You've been like my own, personal sun, shining through the clouds. You've been an amazing friend and I wouldn't have it any other way."

Jacob frowned. "Yeah, friend," he said, laying his eyes on his toes.

Okay, I had known that Jacob had intentions to become more than just a friend with me. I'd seen it numerous times when he'd tried to hold my hand, hugged me just a teensy bit too long, and just stared at me with adoration in his eyes. But I didn't feel that way towards him. Sometimes I'd wished I did, sometimes I'd just felt annoyed by his not-so-subtle hints towards an actual romantic relationship between the two of us. But now when I'd discovered this new part of myself, I wasn't sure if I cared anymore. Edward had left me, yes. Jacob had helped to ease the pain, definitely. But he could never replace Alice in my life. That was a spot that only my bubbly pixie could fill.

"Hey, Jacob. You know I love you," I said, and moved even closer to him. He looked at me.

"But you don't want to date me," he stated. "You still aren't over Edward."

That made me think. Was I actually over him? Could I actually consider being with Alice instead? Did I love Alice more than I'd ever loved Edward? This was confusing beyond belief. I frowned unintentionally, and Jacob misread my expression.

"I'm so sorry, Bella. I promised that I wouldn't hurt you, and I keep breaking that promise," he said and stepped closer, opening his arms as if offering me a hug. Not to make him even more sad, I stepped in and let him pull me into a warm, comforting hug.

"It's okay, Jacob. You're only human," I said, knowing that referring to him as 'human' made him happy.

I knew he was frightened about being a werewolf. I just hoped he'd get used to it soon. No one wants to see their friend sad. Then I saw it – me and Jake were the same. Both of us had this new thing in ourselves that we couldn't control. It was new and terrifying, but we couldn't get out of it. Realizing that, I wrapped my arms around Jake as well, letting him comfort me, as I simultaneously tried to do the same to him.

Then he pulled away a bit, to look me straight in the eyes.

"You know that I could make you as happy as Edward, even happier perhaps?" he asked.

I could feel his hot breath on my face, and smell his musky, forest-like scent. His face was almost too close to mine. This was definitely something I didn't think about beforehand. What if he tried to kiss me? Should I let him? Should I push him away? The latter wouldn't work though, because he was so strong. I couldn't push him away even if I tried. Would it be so bad to let him kiss me? I could just explain to him that I didn't want any romance with him after he'd gotten the kiss he wanted. Would that be so bad? He just wanted a kiss from me. Would I be a good friend if I gave it to him, even under false pretenses?

I didn't have to think about it any further, because when Jacob's lips almost touched mine, the phone rang.

"Shoot!" Jacob spat and rushed to the phone.

"Swan residence," he said to the receiver.

There was a short silence while the person in the other end spoke. Jake glanced at me with an expression of mixed emotions.

"Jacob? Who is that?" I asked, but he just turned away from me.

"No, he's not here. He's arranging a funeral," Jacob growled into the receiver. What had put him into such a bad mood?

"Well, good day to you as well, _leech_," he said and ended the call.

As he turned to face me, he muttered something under his breath. Something that sounded very much like:

"Always in the way."

Suddenly I knew who had called. And I was furious.

"Jacob. Who was that?" I asked with a demanding tone.

"Oh, just your dearest Cullen," he said.

My blood was boiling. Why didn't Jacob tell me?

"Why didn't you let me speak to him?" I asked, or rather screamed.

"He didn't ask to talk to you. He just wanted to know where Charlie was!" he yelled back.

Suddenly, in a blur of black and white, Alice appeared into the living room.

"Bella, I had a vision!" she shrieked. She was obviously shocked by what she had seen.

"What is it, Alice?" I asked.

"It's Edward," she said. "Rosalie told him I'd seen you jump off a cliff. He thinks you've killed yourself."

I looked at Jacob furiously.

"And you told him that Charlie's arranging a _funeral_?" I yelled at him.

Jacob lifted his hands up. "I didn't know he wanted to check if you were alive or not. He just asked for Charlie."

"Did he call?" Alice asked, confused. "Why didn't I see that?"

"I don't know, but why are you so upset? It's not like he cares anymore," I said, not feeling the pain anymore. I didn't care either, now that Alice was here.

"He's going to kill himself," she announced with a shaky voice.

What? No! This was completely absurd. Why in the world would he kill himself over my death? He said that he didn't want me anymore. Maybe he thought that I'd tried to kill myself because of him leaving me? He was doing this out of guilt. I couldn't let that happen. I would not be the reason why the Cullen family would lose a member.

"You can't be serious! What should we do? We can't let him kill himself!" I shrieked. Panic was starting to build inside my chest.

"Why would you do anything for him, Bella? He _left _you for God's sakes!" Jacob interrupted my panicking process.

"You stay out of this!" both Alice and I shouted in unison. Then Alice said:

"I know what he's going to do. But saving him will be impossible. He's going to the Volturi and ask them to kill him. Believe me, they have the ability to do that."

"So what can we do?" I asked.

"We have to prevent that somehow. This will earn you a lifetime grounded, given that we won't die," Alice explained.

Well, this had become almost like normal life for me; close-to-death situations, vampires, getting grounded... Why not?

"Okay. Let's go then," I said and sprinted to the stairs. I could feel Alice swish past me and go to my room. Jacob was left in the living room, but I was to mad at him to care.

When I got into my room, Alice was already throwing clothes into my suitcase. I grabbed the sock under my mattress where I kept extra money and my passport and put the passport into my purse. Alice had already gathered enough stuff for the trip.

"Do you have your passport?" she checked. I nodded.

"Great. Now let's go!" Alice said. She didn't stay and wait for me to get downstairs with my human speed, but scooped me into her arms bridal style and carried me and my suitcase downstairs and all the way to the black Mercedes, that was parked along the street. I was holding my purse, my knuckles white from squeezing it so hard.

I was just about to get in, when Jacob came running towards the car.

"Bella!" he shouted.

As he came to a stop in front of me, he fell on one knee.

"I know I suck as a friend. I know you have no reason whatsoever to stay. But that doesn't make me not want you to go. So please, if not for me, then for Charlie. Stay," he said and looked up at me with his deep brown eyes.

But despite his charming performance, I was too mad at him to oblige to his plea.

"No, Jacob. I need to sort this out," I said and climbed to the shotgun seat.

Alice was already on the driver's seat and she started the engine. In a matter of seconds we were moving at an immense speed towards Seattle, and Edward.

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><p><strong>Don't you just love young, confused infatuation? I certainly do!<strong>

**Peace, love, Twilight!**

**Always yours,**

**AC**


	5. Fright and Flight

**Hey y'all! **

**Well, here it is! The next chapter of Solar Halo. Will Alice and Bella be able to save Edward? Only the race against time will tell. Ready, set, GO!**

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><p><span>Chapter 4 - Fright and Flight<span>

The worst thing about airports is that everything takes time. Check in queues are long and there are many suitcases to go down that conveyor. Then, when there's only one person before you, something goes wrong and they have to check the bags and the passports are lost, and the percent of frustration is over a hundred. Then, when you have finally checked your luggage in, you have to basically strip for the safety guards at the safety inspection before they find the belly button piercing that's causing the gates to beep every time you try to pass. Then, there's that awfully boring and time-wasting wait for the gates to open. The whole situation is especially frustrating when it is crucial that you get from place A to place B as soon as possible. In life-threatening situations, the frustration percent can climb up to 300. And that was where I was. Luckily I had company.

"Alice, when does the plane leave exactly?" I asked. She didn't even have to look for a clock. Thanks to her gift, she already knew.

"In an hour. The gate will open in 30 minutes. The flight's going to be on time," she said and looked at me. I could register the tenseness in her eyes. She was afraid for her brother.

We had waited for 3 hours to finally get to the international side of the airport. Now that we were there, I was getting anxious to leave. Every single minute we had to wait on this airport was crucial considering our mission. But while we had waited, I'd had a lot of time to think. And everything I'd thought about had made it even more clear that I was, indeed, in love with Alice. I'd given some more thought to the fact that Jacob had been able to make me feel better about Edward leaving me, but had never made my grief for Alice fade. I'd thought about how it had always been easy to be with Alice. We seemed to fit. We were so different from each other, but something kept us together. It was like we completed each other, and now I really hoped it was so. After pondering this and that in the queue for check in, I'd realized one more thing: I wasn't sad about Edward leaving me anymore. There was no hole to be healed. No, I was furious at Edward. I was so mad at him for leaving me rot without my best friend. He didn't even let her say goodbye. Simultaneously I had to be grateful – if Edward hadn't made the Cullens leave, I would've never discovered my feelings for Alice. So now that I was travelling to save Edward, I couldn't help a question slip into my mind: why the hell was I doing this? I found the answer in Alice's eyes as I watched her pace back and forth in the waiting hall. I was doing this for her. I was saving her brother.

"Alice, it's going to be alright," I tried to calm her down. "Come and sit."

Alice walked to me reluctantly and sunk on the hard and uncomfortable bench.

"Come here," I said and opened my arms to her. She shuffled closer to me and leaned her head on my shoulder. I wrapped my arms around her.

"Don't worry, Alice. It'll be okay," I said and rubbed her back tenderly. If only I could make that fear in her eyes go away...

"I haven't seen anything for hours. It's frustrating. I only know that he's going to ask the Volturi to kill him," she said, her voice strained.

I couldn't fight the need to place a soft kiss on her head. I let my lips linger on her raven hair a bit longer than necessary. That didn't seem to bother Alice though. In fact, I was pretty sure I felt her press against me a bit harder and shudder. Whether the shudder was her crying, I wasn't sure, but I was glad I could make her feel better.

"We'll stop him, don't worry. You'll get to see your brother again," I told her, but I was afraid I was going to break that promise.

Alice calmed down a little after that moment of ours. She didn't rise to pace again. Instead, we just sat there, and listened to music from Alice's iPod. I'd grown to hate music during the months the Cullens had been gone. Every type of music had reminded me of Edward. Now, with Alice here, I found joy in music again. It soothed me, excited me, brought all the emotions back to me. I'd tried to gain numbness, but it had come with a cost. Now I could feel freely again.

"You know I started to play the piano, right?" Alice asked at some point.

"Yeah."

"Would you like to hear a piece I made myself?"

I was awed. She actually wrote a song of her own. Well, of course she was capable. She was a vampire, so she had talent, obviously. I still admired the fact that someone, vampire or not, could compose music.

"Of course I want to hear your own stuff!" I said, excitedly. I really wanted to hear what she had made.

Alice smiled widely.

"Great! Before you listen to it, I'll explain it to you a bit," she said.

"I started to play quite shortly after we left. Esme bought a new piano where she and Carlisle set their life, and I hung around quite a bit before going to travel. There, I composed this piece. It started with me just playing around with the keys, trying to make something out of the instrument. It had been a really bad day for me. I was so sad that I hadn't gotten a chance to say goodbye to you, and that the family was falling apart. While I was fooling around with the keys, sadness engulfed me again and I found myself playing a tune. After that, the piece came together as I tweaked the original melody a bit. So I guess you could say that this one was inspired by you."

Her last sentence made my heart flutter and my cheeks burn. Alice grinned and pressed 'play' on her iPod. A soft, melancholy tune started to play. It was different from those songs Edward composed. They were peaceful. I recalled the lullaby he had made for me. All his songs were like that; full of peace, and love, and stuff. This, however, was filled with grief, as if someone had just died. This was how leaving me had made Alice feel. I couldn't help the tears that were gathering in my eyes.

As the last notes of the song had played and faded, Alice pulled the earplug out of my ear. I looked at her, facing the golden eyes of hers gazing to my red, puffy ones.

"It was beautiful," I managed to say.

"Thank you," Alice replied and pulled a tissue out of her handbag, offering it to me, grinning.

"We're so emotional, don't you think?" she laughed. I giggled at that. We surely were.

Suddenly, a woman's voice started to speak through the loudspeakers:

"Passengers on the flight SE738 to Amsterdam, please make your way to gate 7B."

Alice jumped up and I followed her. We'd sat fairly close to the gate to make sure we'd get into the plane early. Any step of progress made us feel less tense.

I felt so elated when we finally got to show our passports to the lady at the gate and walk through the tunnel to the plane. The captain and the crew welcomed us onboard and we took our seats. I felt like I could breathe more easily now that we were on the plane. But our frustration grew as we sat there, doing nothing, waiting for all the passengers, and the crew to check everyone had their seat belts on, and all that.

"Let's just go already!" Alice huffed in irritation when we'd sat there for 20 minutes. I took her hand in mine and rubbed circles on the back of it with my thumb to calm her down.

"They're just double checking the doors. Then we'll leave," I assured her.

"You take all of this very calmly," Alice said, looking surprised. "Aren't you afraid at all? He'll die if we won't get there on time! I'll lose him forever. _You'll_ lose him forever!"

I wanted to tell her then. I really did. Just to tell her I was really angry with her brother and that I'd rather him to go die if it wasn't for her. But it was hardly the place.

"Well, either one of us has to remain calm. He's your brother, you have every right to be scared. He doesn't love me anymore, so there's more reason for you to get worried," I explained. It was true. He had said that he didn't want me anymore. I didn't want him anymore either, but Alice didn't have to know that just now.

Luckily, like I'd told Alice, the motors of the plane were switched on then, and we backed away from the airport, and soon enough we shot towards the sky. We were finally off and I could feel Alice relaxing next to me. I came to realize that I'd held her hand the whole time. I pulled my hand away, embarrassed, but Alice took it again.

"Please hold my hand, Bella. I really am scared," she whispered.

"Of course I will," I said and squeezed her hand a bit, smiling at her reassuringly.

Being with Edward had never been like this. He had always been the stronger one, who was protecting me. With Alice, we were almost equal. Physically, Alice was way stronger than me, but on an emotional level, I could help her as much as she did to me.

The flight was announced to be 11 hours long. We would arrive to Amsterdam at 7 pm local time. The 11 hours seemed to go by fast for me. Maybe the reason was that I had a perfectly good excuse to hug Alice, or stroke her hair, or hold her hand, or whatever would make the flight easier for her. She was impatient by nature, and combined with the fear for Edward's life, this flight was probably one of the most unnerving moments of her life. I was also anxious, but obviously not for the same reason as Alice. I really didn't care about Edward. But for Alice, I would do anything. After two hours of the flight, the crew came with the food trolleys. I offered to eat Alice's food as well as mine, because we didn't want to cause any suspicion in the flight attendants. The food tasted bad, like the usual stuff they give you in airplanes, but I ate it bravely. _'For Alice. This all is for Alice,'_ I thought to myself as I forced down the last pieces of my meal. Alice was happy when I'd eaten that much. She still thought I looked a bit sick. I could still feel the remains of my sore throat, and a fever was definitely on its way back, but I didn't care. Alice had taken care of me, and now it was my time to pay her back.

I can't even express how grateful I was when the captain turned the seat belt light back on and announced that we would be landing soon. Alice lifted her head up off my shoulder where she'd been resting it for quite some time.

"We made it!" she sighed happily.

I looked at her and saw her eyes sparkle with hope. I couldn't help but smile. Pinch me, please. Somehow I was still sure that I was dreaming and when I wake up she'd be gone and I'd be miserable again.

"We sure did. Now we only have an hour to wait and then a five-hour flight to Rome," I said happily.

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><p>Oh, how wrong a person can be. As soon as we went through customs and looked at the board to see our flight, Alice was hit by a vision. She zoned out briefly and when she came back, she looked shocked. I was sure she'd collapse.<p>

"What's wrong, Alice?" I asked, taking her hand and rubbing circles on it again.

"Our flight..." she trailed off. I took her by the waist and led her onto the benches closest to us.

"Tell me, Alice. What happened?" I asked again, trying to sound calm, but her shock made me feel uneasy.

"We'll be late," Alice stated. "We won't make it. We have to stay here overnight."

Of all the bad things that could go wrong this was what happened! Why couldn't luck be on my side? We would never be able to catch Edward in time. Next to me, the whites of Alice's eyes had gone red again. I wrapped my arms around her and let her sob against my shoulder.

"Shh, it'll be okay. Something will come up. He'll be safe," I told her over and over again.

Suddenly she tensed in my arms. Then she pulled back with a wide grin on her face.

"The Volturi refused him! They won't kill him without a cause. He's making a plan of what to do to irritate them enough to kill him," she said.

"Oh, that's good news!" I exclaimed. "We'll get more time!"

And as I'd said that, a woman's voice spoke from the loudspeakers:

"Dear passengers waiting for flight AR366 to Rome, I'm sorry to inform you your flight is late due to technical problems. The flight will be delayed and the estimate time of departure will be at 3.00 am."

"Told you," Alice said. I was glad she was happier again.

My stomach growled suddenly and Alice giggled.

"The human needs to eat," she said and took my hand. "Let's go."

We walked to this typical, over priced airport restaurant. It was packed with people, who I supposed were waiting for the same flight as us. A waitress managed to find us a table for two. As usual, she was surprised when Alice didn't order anything. As she wrote my order down (penne carbonara), she asked us about which flight we were waiting for. She spoke very good English for a Dutch girl. I say girl, because she was somewhere in her 20's. She wasn't surprised when we told her how late our flight was. Apparently, I had been right with my assumption considering the other customers of the restaurant.

When the waitress left to get my drink, Alice got another vision.

"He's got a plan now. He'll reveal himself to the humans. The Volturi will kill him if he does that. He'd be breaking the most important vampire law ever. He'll go to the town square of Volterra and when the sun is at its highest, he'll show himself in the sunlight," Alice said.

I did some math in my head and realized that we could be there in time if nothing else happened that would slow us down. I took Alice's hand that was resting on the table and stroked the back of it.

"Well make it. We've got time," I whispered to her.

Suddenly, the waitress was back.

"So, Rome," she said while pouring water into my glass. "Such a romantic destination."

I looked at the waitress, then to Alice who was trying hard not to smile, and then to our hands which were still connected. I wasn't sure what to say. Luckily, Alice is good with words.

"Yes, it really is. Have you been there?" she replied to the waitress.

"Yeah we were there on our honeymoon with my husband," she said. "Why did you two choose Rome?"

"Oh, we're visiting her brother," I said quickly. I mentally congratulated myself for coming up with such a convincing lie. I suck at lying.

The waitress looked surprised. "Oh, I see," she said, the surprise on her face turning into embarrassment. "I'll be back soon with your food."

Alice looked at me and arched her eyebrow. "That was interesting was it not," she grinned.

My face turned gradually to a deep shade of red. "That was embarrassing," I said.

"What's embarrassing about people thinking we're a couple?" Alice asked.

Again, I wished I could tell her. There's nothing wrong with people thinking we were a couple. I'd love to be with her. But I just couldn't tell her now.

"Nothing. Just weird. We're friends," I said.

"True," Alice said in a small voice.

My heart took off. Could it be that she actually wanted to be with me as well? Had she been hoping I'd tell her how I really feel about her? No, she couldn't. She had Jasper. She wasn't gay.

After a while, the waitress brought my food. She double checked from Alice that she didn't want anything. Alice assured her that she was perfectly fine and she left us alone. Alice watched, fascinated as I ate.

"You know, I don't think I'll ever get bored of watching you eat. It's so interesting. I can't remember eating myself, so it's all new to me," she told me when I was finishing the delicious serving of pasta.

"It must be weird to you, watch someone eat," I mused as I gulped the last of my water.

"I wouldn't say 'weird.' Just fascinating," Alice said and motioned our waitress to bring us the check.

"Did you enjoy your meal?" the waitress asked me as she brought the check to our table.

I nodded. "Yes, it was delicious. Would you thank the chef for me, please?"

"Will do," the waitress said and smiled. She stood there, waiting for me to dig money out of my purse, but Alice was faster.

"I'm paying," she said and handed the correct amount of money to the waitress.

"Oh, you don't have to," I tried, but Alice stayed firm. What was it with the Cullens and paying everything for me?

"Well okay, miss Gentlewoman," I said and rolled my eyes. The waitress giggled.

"Thank you for coming. I hope you'll have a great time in Rome," she said.

Alice and I left the restaurant after saying goodbye to the waitress. It was almost nine o'clock already, but we still had six hours to go. I was exhausted from the travelling and now I could really feel the fever lurking about. We sat on some seats in the waiting hall, close to our gate. Alice touched my forehead with her cold hand. I leaned against it. It felt so good on my now hot skin.

"You're ill again," she said, the corners of her mouth pulling downwards.

"It's okay, I'll be fine. I just need some sleep," I said.

I lied down across the seats next to Alice. The seats were very uncomfortable and there were gaps between them. Not the most perfect place to sleep in.

"You don't look that comfortable, you know," Alice said, looking at my position.

"Well, I'll manage," I said, trying to sound convincing.

"Oh no, you won't," Alice shook her head, shuffled closer to me, and let me rest my head on her lap. "Now, sleep, Bella."

She stroked my hair soothingly. Eventually she started to stroke my cheek as well, letting her cold fingers linger on my hot skin. How perfectly they went together; fire and ice. I fell asleep there, in the middle of the airport of Amsterdam, and in the tender care of Alice.

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><p>"Bella, we need to go."<p>

I opened my eyes groggily.

"Noooo," I moaned. I was really tired and I definitely had a fever.

"Come on, you can continue your sleep in the plane," Alice said and pulled me up.

I followed her to the gate, stumpling on my own feet. Luckily she held my hand the whole time, helping me keep my balance. I almost fell asleep again when we had to wait in the queue for the gate. Alice kept poking me to keep me awake. When in the plane, I just tunk onto my seat and fell asleep again, resting my head on Alice's shoulder.

I felt relatively well-slept when I woke up. We had almost arrived to the airport. The seat belt lights had been turned on already.

"Good morning, Bella," Alice greeted me with a tense smile.

"Hi," I said back. "Thanks for letting me use you as a pillow."

"Anytime, hun," she replied. "Now, I'm really nervous. We only have three hours left to get to Volterra before noon. It takes three hours to get there by car."

I took her hand in mine again and smiled at her reassuringly. "Don't worry. We'll be quick."

We managed to get out of the plain first, thanks to Alice who was an expert in pushing people out of her way; a skill she'd mastered in the sales of her favourite clothe shop. Waiting for our luggage was the worst part. It took too much time for the bags to come out of that hole in the wall, and it seemed to take even longer for Alice to spot our bags there. Quickly, not caring if anyone realized, Alice snatched our bags as they came visible from the sea of bags, and we walked away from the luggage reclaim, and out of the airport.

It was really hot outside. I had gotten used to the humid coldness of Forks, and this felt like being in Arizona again, except for the Mediterranean plants that bloomed beautifully around us. Alice set our bags on the ground.

"Stay here, I'll be right back," she said and ran away, a bit too fast for a human.

I sat on my bag and waited. I took a look at a clock on the outer wall of the airport. It was 10 am. We only had two hours to be in Volterra before noon. And Alice had said that it took three hours to get there by car. I really hoped Alice had a plan. Just after I'd had that thought, I heard a squeal of tires and a canary yellow sports car appeared in front of me. Alice jumped out of the car and took our bags. She threw them into the trunk, and motioned me to get in. When I'd closed the door, Alice was already on her seat, and she put the pedal to the metal and we rocketed away from the airport. I looked at Alice, whose face was covered by huge sunglasses. She had a scarf on her head, and I noticed she had put on a pair of tan gloves. Of course, it was dangerous to her to be outside when it was this sunny. I hoped no one would see her in the sunlight.

"Umm, Alice?" I asked, when I came to think of something.

"Yup?" she asked, turning her head to me. Usually I would've been scared that we'd hit something, but I didn't care. We needed to get to Volterra. Plus, I knew Alice would never hit anything or anyone.

"You didn't actually rent this, didn't you?" I asked, tapping the dashboard. I took a look at the speed meter, which showed a good 150 miles per hour speed.

Alice bit her lip. "Well, it depends," she said.

"Oh? Depends on what?" I asked. I'd thought there would be a simple answer to the question.

"On how strongly you are opposed to grand theft auto," Alice stated nonchalantly.

"Well, right now, I don't care," I assured her, managing to find some humor from the situation.

"Good. Because I didn't rent this."

Alice turned back to watch the road, and I, too, took a look outside. We were racing through the beautiful Italian countryside. I made a mental note to myself to return here some day. Perhaps with Alice. But this wasn't a time for planning the future. We were on a mission. I didn't believe in God, but as a precaution I crossed my fingers and sent a silent prayer to him. If he really was there, he would let us save Edward.

The clock on the dashboard told me that we only had an hour left.

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><p><strong>As usual, reviews are much appreciated. Super thanks to everyone who already reviewed!<strong>

**Until next time,**

**Peace, love, Twilight.**

**Luv,**

**AC**


	6. A Lot of Talking

**Hello again!**

**Firstly, I have to tell you that I'm so so so so sorry that I've been keeping you guys waiting for this long! The school year is almost over and I have literally worked around the clock to get everything done. But now, I'm free again (well, exams start tomorrow, but after that I'm done) and you may enjoy my writing more often :). To make amends I have written a bit longer chapter for you guys this time! I really hope you'll enjoy it. Now dig in!**

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><p><span>Chapter 5 - A Lot of Talking<span>

As the minutes ticked by, our anxiousness grew. When we only had half an hour left, Alice was a tiny, pixielike ball of nerves. Luckily we soon saw a hill far in the horizon. Alice took in a shaky breath.

"That's Volterra," she said and pointed at the said hill.

"Thank goodness," I breathed.

I realized that I hadn't been afraid of Alice's frantic driving at all. I'd been so preoccupied by the fear of not getting to Edward in time that I'd forgotten to be afraid of everything else. I'd also forgotten the fact that we were about to enter a city that was the home of the oldest coven of vampires known in this world. As realization hit me, my anxiousness doubled.

"Umm, Alice?" I asked in a small, squeaky voice, looking at Alice. She seemed to be more relaxed now that we were getting closer to our destination.

"Yeah?" she answered.

"Remember when you said I'm going to get grounded _if_ I won't _die_ on this trip?" I asked, suddenly gripping the sides of my seat tightly.

"I do remember saying it. Why?" Alice asked and looked at me, a glint of worry in her eyes. But what else would there be in them? Of course she was worried. _I _was worried, and I didn't give a rat's butt about Edward. I was in this for Alice.

"You think the Volturi will kill us?" I asked slowly, careful not to show the anxiety in my voice.

"Yes, they certainly have the capacity to kill us. I just hope they don't get a chance. What I'm planning is that we'll get to Edward before he does anything and then we just get out of here as soon as possible," Alice explained and turned her eyes back to the road.

She slid her hand down the steering wheel and on top of mine, which was still gripping my seat. Ever so gently, she pulled my fingers off the seat, and held my hand, squeezing it reassuringly. The gentle touch of her icy cold hand on mine sent tingles up my arm.

"I promise that I'm going to do whatever it takes to get you out of there alive," she said. "Can you just promise me something?"

"Depends," I told her. But inside, I knew I'd do anything she'd ask me to do.

"I knew that. Well, the only thing I ask from you is that when I tell you to run, just run. Don't worry about me, or Edward if he's with us. Just make sure you'll be safe. I'll handle the rest. Are we clear?" she asked.

Running... Not my area of expertise, even in a calm atmosphere and with no people around me. Definitely not when chased by vampires. But I could promise to try. If...

"If you promise to try your hardest to keep yourself alive, and not to get yourself killed while trying to save me," I answered, squeezing Alice's hand in mine.

Alice rolled her eyes, a hint of smile on the corner of her lips.

"I'll try my hardest," she said. "I promise to try."

"It's a deal," I said and smiled.

It was quarter to twelve when we reached the outskirts of the city of Volterra. I sighed of relief, but Alice tensed. She glanced around, looking at the people walking down the streets. I looked at them as well, and noticed that every single one of them was dressed in a scarlet red cloak, some of which had hoods on them.

"Why are they dressed like this, Alice?" I asked, confused. I'd never visited Italy before, but I didn't expect them all to have such similar taste in fashion.

"It's Saint Marcus' Day," she stated. That didn't hold much information for me, so I asked:

"And that would be?"

"Saint Marcus is a patron saint for the people of Volterra. The legend tells that he purged the city from vampires in the medieval times. They celebrate today by dressing up as vampires," Alice explained. "This is the worst day for Edward to attempt... getting himself killed. The Volturi will be extra careful during the festival."

The fact that Alice hadn't been able to say "attempt suicide" wasn't left unnoticed. I took my hand away from hers to place it gently on her shoulder for some comfort. But I had to admit, it was pretty ironic that a vampire is about to reveal himself to humans on the annual anti-vampire day.

"We're almost there," I said, both to myself and to Alice, as we got closer to the city centre.

It was ten to twelve, and the amount of people was ridiculous. I was starting to get annoyed at the people constantly blocking the road. We wouldn't be able to reach Edward in time by car. I could sense that Alice had similar things in mind as I did. The way she eyed the crowd, tapping her long fingernails onto the steering wheel made it evident that this wasn't the way she had planned.

"Bella, I need you to do something now," she said all of a sudden.

"What do I need to do?" I asked.

"We can't get past these people by car. You need to run to the town square. Edward will make his scene there, under the clock tower. I would go myself, but he would hear my thoughts, and make him rush it," Alice explained and I listened in horror as she planned me to be the last hope for our mission to succeed.

"But Alice, I can't run..." I started, but Alice took my face between her hands and forced me to look her in the eyes. That made me stop talking, because her hands cupping my face made me completely tongue-tied.

"I believe in you, Bella. You have already shown that you are capable of doing much more than a human usually would. You can do this. I know you can. And Edward needs you now," she said, her voice one of a soccer coach who assures the goalie that he can block one more goal. But her eyes were warm, full of reassurance and comfort, that I couldn't help but feel peaceful.

I took a deep breath and registered Alice's scent floating around me. I could've stayed there for a bit longer, but Alice had a better idea. She quickly pulled my face closer to hers, planted a kiss on my cheek and kicked my ass out of the car.

"You only have five minutes, Bella! Go!" she shouted from the open window and I took off running.

"_Town square, town square, town square," _I repeated in my mind as if it would help me find the damn place any faster. The narrow medieval streets were packed with red-hooded people and I had to shove them aside to get past them. I didn't care about the annoyed glares or yelps as I ran through the human mass, simultaneously concentrating not to trip on my own feet. I was sure I could never find the square until I realized that Alice had told me there was a clock tower there. I started to glance upwards to see if I could find the tower. I don't think I'd had this many things to congratulate myself for in my entire life, because yet again I got a chance to do so. In fact, the tower wasn't far at all. I took off running again, pushing through the sea of hooded people. I had to slow down a bit when I reached small stone stairs, but as I walked up them, I'd arrived to my destination. Too bad I was on the wrong side of the square. And the view I faced as I took a look at the square...

"Holy shit," I muttered to myself, earning a glance of distaste from an elderly woman beside me.

The whole square was packed with people. What was half of the population of Italy doing in this square? And why did I have to be the one to try to get through them? I took a look at the clock on the clock tower and saw that midday was only a few seconds away. That realization made me move my legs again. But the crowd was thicker than it had been on the streets. It took much more effort to make progress. Still, step by step, I made my way towards the centre of the square.

I didn't see, I didn't hear, I just ran, shoving people away as I pushed through. This was a real life nightmare. I knew I wouldn't be able to make it to Edward in time. My legs grew heavy as the scorching sun made my head woozy and drops of sweat appeared on my forehead. If Alice were here, it wouldn't have been this terrible. But she couldn't come here with Edward being able to read her mind. The thought of Alice made me feel a little lighter. I was running for her. In a way, I was running for the love of my life. But I wasn't rescuing my love directly. It was more an indirect approach. In any case, I could not bare to fail. I wouldn't be able to look into the eyes of any Cullen if I failed in saving the life of their son. Especially when this was all my fault.

I arrived to a fountain and saw the other side of the plaza. Suddenly the clock began to toll, and I increased my speed. There were less people on this side of the square, but still quite a handful. From beneath the mass of people I could see the building below the clock tower, and a pale figure waiting in the shadows of the columns of the building. The sight made me run again, and just when I felt a little tinge of hope, the clock began to toll. I was late. I could see Edward make his way toward the sunlight. Inevitably late. I forced my legs move, faster and faster. But I knew I couldn't make it. As the clock tolled the twelfth hour of the day, Edward unbuttoned his light blue collared shirt, the shadow of the columns covering him only just. There weren't many people in my way now so, not trusting my legs but not caring about it, I took off full speed ahead. Edward closed his eyes and took one more step forward. The rays of the sun hit his bare chest, making his skin sparkle like a thousand diamonds. A matter of seconds later, I crashed into him.

"Edward, you need to move. Now," I said, panting heavily. I tried to push him back into the shadows, but he refused to move.

"Dear Lord, my prayers have been answered. Carlisle was right. I'm in Heaven," Edward murmured, his eyes still closed. "I have to admire their speed. I didn't feel a thing."

"No, Edward, you are alive. We both are," I insisted, still pushing against him. _'For now at least,'_ I thought to myself.

As Edward made no motion to move, I reached for his closed eyelids, forcing one of them open.

"Open your damn eyes, Edward! I'm alive!" I yelled at him. That brought him back to this world.

"Bella?" he asked, astonished.

I nodded. "Yeah, it's me. Now _move_."

Edward shuffled backwards, holding me to his chest. When inside the building, he held me away from him to look at me.

"I don't know how this is possible, but I can't thank God enough. You are alive," he murmured, stroking my cheek.

"We really don't have time for this. Your family misses you and they can't stand losing you. Now cover yourself and let's go," I said, trying to button his shirt. He, however, moved my hands away.

"I need to tell you something, Bella," he started, but I didn't want to hear.

"Later. We need to go," I said and pulled my cell phone from my jeans' pocket.

Alice picked up quickly.

"Where are you?" I asked.

"I'm right outside the square, and I found a bigger car that'll fit all three of us. Hurry! We need to get out of this place," her voice said from the other end.

I closed the phone and tugged Edward along. He pulled his hands inside his sleeves and covered his face from direct sunlight. Then we walked towards the exit from the square, where Alice was waiting in a perfectly normal Toyota. I didn't speak a word. Edward tried to say something, but I would silence him with a glare. I didn't want to hear anything from him. I didn't care. All I cared for was to get back to Alice. As we got close to the car, Alice opened the shotgun door and I slipped in. Edward took the back seat.

As soon as the door was closed, Alice drove the car away from the streets of Volterra. A small thought occurred to me. Edward had technically revealed himself. So why weren't the Volturi after us? The answer for my question stood right in front of us as we reached the highway that led to Rome. Five hooded figures were blocking the road.

Alice stopped the car and turned to me.

"Now Bella, just stay in the car. Edward and I will go and talk to them, okay?" she said.

I didn't like the idea, but if it made our escape easier, I could oblige. After all, I didn't want Alice to get hurt. So, instead of arguing, I nodded and Alice and Edward jumped out of the car. I watched them walk to the hooded figures and nod slightly to each one. The tall figure in the middle took a step closer and shook Edward's hand. Or at least he took his hand in his own and held it. That is one weird hand shake. I stared our of the tinted window as the three of them engaged into a conversation. Then they all, even the four other hooded figures turned to stare at the car. Edward started to walk slowly toward me. He opened my door.

"Bella, please get out of the car. The Volturi want to meet you," he said ever so gently, offering his hand.

I didn't know why he was this nice, even though he'd said he never wanted to see me again, but I didn't let that bother me. I took his hand and he walked me to the others.

"Aro, I'd like you to meet Bella Swan," he said and let go of my hand as we reached them.

The tall figure, Aro, I suppose, observed me closely with his scarlet eyes. Then he offered his hand to me.

"Ah, Bella! So pleasant to finally meet you! You aren't dead after all. How I love a happy ending," he smiled, still holding out his hand.

I glanced at Alice for support, and she nodded towards Aro's hand. I took it, shaking slightly. Aro wrapped his fingers around my hand and closed his eyes. His smile faded and he opened his eyes almost immediately.

"How odd," he mused. "I can't hear."

I must've looked confused, because Edward said: "Aro can read every thought a person has had with one touch."

Oh, so _that's_ what it was all about earlier! He was reading Alice and Edward's thoughts! No wonder he couldn't read mine. Edward couldn't either.

"She is truly remarkable, I must say," Aro continued. "You can't hear her thoughts either, can you Edward?"

Edward shook his head.

"Amazing. But all that aside. I have had you come here because there are some things we must discuss, Isabella," Aro said, locking his piercing eyes with mine.

"Umm, go ahead. What do you want to discuss?" I said, my voice betraying me and my anxiety.

"I have heard that you are aware of the vampire community around you. Am I correct?" he asked.

"Yes."

"And do you know, Isabella, what happens to humans who know?"

"No," I answered and gulped.

"A very unfortunate thing, I have to say. We have to kill those people," Aro said, smirking.

Alice and Edward both growled.

"You won't touch her!" Edward snarled and leaped forward, but a hooded figure tackled him down.

"Careful there, Alec. We'll deal with him later," a bit bored-sounding voice said from the row of hoods.

"Thank you, Caius," Aro said and looked back at me.

"So, any last wishes?" he asked. "Don't worry my dear. Since you're a friend of Carlisle's, I'll make it extra quick. You won't feel anything."

My last wish... I knew what I wanted.

"I want to become a vampire," I said in a timid voice, the one I despised.

I could see the shock in Aro's eyes. I also heard a growl coming from Edward.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Bella. See, that would beat the point. If you were to become a vampire, we wouldn't have to kill you," Aro said. "Such a shame it is to end your life. If only your Edward would want to grant you immortality..."

"I've seen it happen," Alice spoke suddenly. Aro's eyes left mine and bolted towards Alice.

"Have you now?" he asked.

Alice nodded. "Yes. Bella will become one of us. I myself will be the one to bite her."

My heart took off, beating like never before. Alice had seen me become a vampire. I could join the Cullen family. I could live with Alice forever.

Edward roared. "No! You won't do that, Alice! You will not take away her soul!"

"Why do you care?" I shouted at him. I was getting very irritated at him. First he had discarded me, and now he was controlling my future. Who did he think he was?

"Let's talk about this later, shall we?" Alice said, raising her hand.

"Later, hmm? I'm afraid Edward here doesn't have a 'later' in sight. He broke the law," Alec, the boy holding Edward smirked.

"Not quite. No one saw him," Alice said, trying to remain calm. I shuffled closer to her, hoping that I could calm her down a bit.

Aro scratched his head, contemplating.

"Are you sure no one saw you?" he asked then, addressing Edward.

"Quite sure, yes. Bella tackled me as soon as I'd stepped into the sun," he answered.

"Well, that changes things. I guess there was no harm done," Aro said. "Just make sure it won't happen again. You're Carlisle's boy, and it would be sad to kill you. Such waste of a gifted vampire. Which reminds me," he turned to me, "when you become a vampire, Isabella, I'm sure you will have the most intriguing gifts. I would very much like to see them, which is why we will pay you all a visit soon."

Aro turned then to look at Alice. "Make sure you won't take too long with the transformation. We won't give second chances. Now go, and make your preparations."

* * *

><p>"I cannot believe they let us go this easily!" Alice exclaimed as we drove towards the airport. She hadn't stopped smiling since we'd left the Volturi.<p>

"I cannot believe you promised them to make Bella a vampire," Edward spat from the backseat. He's been moping all since.

"Why do you care, Edward?" I snapped back, asking the same question I'd already asked.

"Bella, you know why I don't want you to become a vam-"

"Yes, I do and that's ridiculous! Besides, why do you care so much? You told me you didn't want me!" I yelled, letting all of it out.

"Well, see Bella, I had to say something. You wouldn't have let me go otherwise. I never stopped loving you. I just kept bringing danger on your way. I couldn't take it," Edward said from the backseat, his tone more calm now.

"So, it was all a big fat lie?" I shrieked. I couldn't believe what was happening. I shot a glance at Alice, who had stopped smiling as she concentrated on listening to me and Edward argue. She gazed at me through her eyelashes.

"Yes, I had to lie. Like I said, it was the only way. I cannot emphasize how sorry I am. I'm sorry, Bella. So, so sorry," Edward murmured and offered his hand to me. I didn't take it. I mean, seriously, why would I?

"How do I know you aren't lying again?" I asked, not really interested in the answer he'd give me. I wanted to get him back for the torture he'd put me through. I was over him for good, but this idiot needed a lesson.

"You can't know that, Bella and I'm sorry I ever made you doubt me. Please, forgive me. I will continue to work on gaining your trust again even though it would take me forever. Love, I'm begging you," he pleaded. I turned to look at him, his black eyes glowing in the shadow of the backseat.

"Don't bother to beg. I forgive you," I said. He smiled the crooked smile I used to love.

"I love you, Bella," he said solemnly.

That made my stomach twist. I couldn't tell that back. There was another person (well, vampire to be exact) I loved, and she was sitting right next to me. I glanced at Alice again. Her mouth was a tight line, and I could see tenseness in her shoulders. Why was she acting like this? I slid my hand toward her own that was lying on her seat, close to the gearstick. She jumped as my fingers lightly brushed against hers. She looked at me, and I shot a questioning look at her, but she shook her head slightly, telling me she was okay. I nodded and looked back to Edward. He was still observing me, his eyes now soft.

"I've lived months not knowing that, Edward," I finally said, trying to retain my composure. "I don't think my feelings have remained the same."

The change in Edward's whole being was dumbfounding. His face turned into a grimace of pain and he pulled his hand back to bury his face in both of them. For a second, I felt really bad. I hated making people sad. But then I remembered all the pain and anguish he had put me through, and the sorrow in me numbed.

"All my fault," Edward murmured silently.

Suddenly Alice spoke.

"You know, Edward. You can't say I didn't warn you," she said, taking a short glance at Edward.

He raised his face from his palms in anger.

"You stay out of this, Alice. You have no idea of what I feel," he raged.

"No, you be quiet, Edward. Don't you think your little departure plan hadn't made me sad? I lost my best friend, and I'm going to tell you now that it hurt pretty damn much! In fact, I was pretty miserable. _That _is also your fault. All your fault," Alice shouted.

I hadn't seen her this angry after yelling at Jacob at my house.

"How would you feel if Jasper stopped loving you, Alice? Tell me," Edward growled.

"Hey, mister Vampire there! I'm still here!" I shouted at him, annoyed. He just couldn't see how it had been his actions that had caused many people harm.

We sat in silence for the rest of the ride. Alice didn't answer Edward's question. I don't think he even knew Jasper and Alice hadn't seen each other in months. When at the airport, Alice dragged me to buy tickets while Edward disposed of the car and looked after of the luggage. We got tickets to New York quickly enough, two on one row, and one on a few rows back.

"Would you be more comfortable to sit with me on this flight?" Alice asked me softly as we walked back to Edward who was waiting for us. I nodded. Definitely, her company was much better than Edward's.

We didn't have much time to get onto our flight. We'd booked last minute tickets, so we only had about a half an hour to be in the plane. Luckily there weren't any people in the queue for check-in. We rushed through the international side of the airport to our gate, and finally after hours of fear and anxiety, we were on our way back. Edward wasn't happy about the fact that he wouldn't be able to sit next to me in the plane, but he didn't argue after I shot one of my best glares at him when he tried to object.

"Wow, this has been one big adventure, huh?" I said as I curled up in my seat, ready to collapse. The stress had really made me tired.

"Yes, it sure has. Sleep now, will you? You'll need it after all this. And don't worry about Edward. He'll come around," Alice said and pulled me closer to her side.

I leaned against her slender frame and closed my eyes. Alice wrapped her arm around me and stroked my shoulder and I lulled into a peaceful slumber.

* * *

><p>I can honestly say that I don't remember anything before waking up in the backseat of a familiar Mercedes.<p>

"Are we in Forks?" I asked sleepily, trying to raise my head from what I recognized as Alice's lap.

Alice pushed my head back down. "Shh, we'll be there soon. I already called Charlie. He's been worried sick, but he won't bring up the ire tonight," she whispered.

I stiffened. Charlie! I'd forgotten him completely. Oh my goodness, I must be in great trouble!

"Relax, Bella. He's just been worried about you," Alice soothed me, stroking my hair.

I couldn't get back to sleep, so I was wide awake as we pulled down on our driveway. Immediately after Edward stopped the engine, I could hear a door open and Charlie say softly:

"Don't you ever do that to me again, Bella."

"I'm sorry, Charlie. I won't. Promise," I mumbled.

Charlie pulled me out of the car and Alice slid out after me.

"I'll take her up. She needs sleep," she told Charlie, who agreed.

Before me and Alice were inside, I could hear Charlie's voice loud and clear:

"You and I really have to talk, young man."

I would've laughed if I hadn't been this tired. Alice took my straight upstairs. I didn't even bother to change my clothes. I walked straight to my bed, slipping under the covers. Alice sat on the bed beside me. I motioned her closer and she lounged herself next to me, leaning against her elbow.

"You know, I haven't really thanked you for saving my brother," she said quietly. "So, thank you. I can't emphasize enough how grateful I am. You risked your own life to save him. I cannot thank you enough."

I looked into her eyes. "It's okay, Alice. I had to set things straight. After all, he was about to do it because of me," I said.

"It wasn't your fault, silly Bella," Alice laughed a bit. "I have to say I'm surprised though."

"Oh, surprised of what?" I asked.

"Well, I was sort of assuming that you'd still love Edward," she said.

"How could I love a person who lied to me and made me miserable?" I asked, never looking away from her eyes. "No offense, he's still your brother, but still."

"Yes, well, I guess I see what you mean," Alice answered.

A perfect moment. Just lying in my bed with Alice. Everyone was safe with nothing to worry about. Just perfect. Perfect...

"Alice, I really need to tell you something," I said suddenly. I didn't know what made me say it. I'd been waiting for a perfect moment for telling her how I felt but I hadn't thought I'd have the guts to say anything.

"What is it, Bella?" Alice asked quietly.

"You know, I really don't know how to put everything to words, but I'm going to try my best, because it really needs to be said," I started. I had no clue how I was going to tell her.

"Sure. This sounds pretty important," Alice said and nodded.

"After Edward told me you guys would leave, I was miserable. I'm sorry I'm starting from this part, but it really has to be done." Alice nodded and let me continue.

"I lived under a constant cloud of sadness. I was so preoccupied by grieving over Edward that I couldn't see what was good in my life. Then I got some help form... a friend. After that, it was easier to think about Edward. However, that couldn't take away my, errm, longing for another person."

I was probably sweating bullets and shaking, but I didn't care. I was about to tell Alice I loved her.

"I realized that I had never loved Edward as much as I'd loved this other person. It's pretty unusual, but you're my best friend and I can trust you."

I was so into my story that I didn't see Alice's eyes glaze over for a split second.

"So, umm, what I'm trying to say is that... I-"

My flow of words was interrupted by Alice's finger on my lips.

"Bella?" she asked softly, removing her finger.

"Yeah?" I asked, not knowing what was coming.

Alice shuffled closer to me, her nose almost touching mine. Then she leaned forward, her lips grazing against my ear.

"I love you," she whispered.

After losing Edward, I'd never guessed this would happen. That I'd be able to love anyone else. But the fact that the most mesmerizing creature in this whole world actually loved me back was surreal. I was about to ask Alice to pinch me, but Alice startled me by pulling away to gaze into my eyes once again.

"I love you, Alice," I whispered back to her, a knot in my stomach.

Ever so slowly, Alice cupped my cheek and brought my lips gently closer to hers.

* * *

><p><strong>Haa, haa, cliffhanger! I really hope you enjoyed this. I found it entertaining to write as I'm really pissed at the male population of this world. It was great to take it out on poor Eddie :D<strong>

**Until next time,**

**Peace, love, Twilight.**

**Luv,**

**AC**


	7. Floating

**Gosh, I apologize for being away for so long. I've suffered form writer's block and I wasn't able to write for a while. You know how sometimes writing feels sticky and nothing that you come up with makes sense? Yeah, that was me. But I'd like to thank all of you who have reviewed the story during my absence. There have been so many of you who've given some great critique! This next chapter is dedicated to motoklaxon. No need to die, cuz now you'll see what'll happen next! :)**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 6 - Floating<span>

I don't mean to sound cheesy, but as Alice's lips brushed against mine, my whole brain went fuzzy. When I felt those velvet lips on mine, I felt my brain unhinge and I couldn't think straight anymore. At first I was stunned. I'd been waiting for this moment since I'd realized my feelings towards my best friend, but I hadn't given much thought to how I would react if she actually did kiss me. Truthfully, I couldn't have even imagined it to be like this. It was like every single cell in my body was filled with helium. I felt light, floating. The feeling of Alice's lips moving slowly and tenderly against mine sent me straight to cloud nine with no way back. I was barely able to notice that I probably should kiss her back for her to see how much I actually enjoyed being kissed by her. So, not really thinking about it, I tilted my head a bit and let my lips join the gentle movement of Alice's.

The kiss ended way too soon for my liking. Alice pulled away slowly, still with closed eyes and a smile on her face. My heart was fluttering madly, and I could feel my cheeks were warm, obviously screaming red. Alice opened her eyes, and I saw that the white in them had turned slightly pink. She was crying. I took her hand in mine, and like times and times before, I drew small circles on the back of it.

"What's wrong?" I asked her. My voice was high from the excitement the kiss had brought me.

Alice let out a giggle, but went back to smiling slightly almost immediately.

"Nothing is wrong, Bella I'm just so happy. I haven't been this happy in months," she said and laid her eyes on the floor.

I put my index finger under her chin, lifting her head up a bit for her to look back at me.

"I'm happy too," I said quietly. Alice blinked.

"Charlie's about to come up. You should go to sleep," she said, adjusting my blanket a bit with her free hand. I was still holding the other one.

"Don't go," I pleaded. I really wanted to spend some more time with her now that I'd finally told her how I felt.

"I'll come back when Charlie goes to sleep, I promise," Alice said and kissed my forehead tenderly. I'd been hoping to get another kiss on the lips but that would do for now. After all, I was going to become a vampire, so I could spend the rest of eternity kissing Alice. I got preoccupied in that thought and Alice coughed.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked, teasingly.

I could feel a blush creeping onto my cheeks and neck. "You," I said shortly and laid my head down on my pillow.

Alice stood up and walked to my door. There she stopped and turned to look at me.

"I'll see you in a while, Bella," she whispered and walked through the door.

I laid silently in the darkness. I heard Charlie's footsteps on the stairs and pretended to be asleep. I didn't want to talk to him just yet. An 'I'm sorry' would definitely be in order, and I would accept any punishment Charlie would inflict upon me. Just not right now. Charlie peeked through the door and was fooled by my poor act. He backed away slowly, closing the door as he went.

I don't know how long I laid there. I was just waiting for Alice to come back like she'd promised. My thoughts were all over the place. There was so much to take in; Edward had lied about not loving me anymore, I was about to become a vampire, Alice loved me. She loved me. I was so happy I can't even explain it. I didn't question my feelings for her anymore. I definitely loved her, too.

I started to get awfully drowsy after a while of waiting. A yawn escaped my mouth.

"Still awake I see," I heard a soft voice coming from the window. However soft that voice might've been, it only created a nauseating roll in my stomach.

"Why are you here, Edward?" I asked and turned to look at my window. Edward was sitting there, on the windowsill, totally uninvited.

"I came here to set things straight," he said and hopped on the floor.

"What is there to do?" I asked. I was getting more annoyed by the minute that this boy was invading my room.

Edward took two steps closer to my bed. "I still love you, no matter what I said back then, Bella," he said, his golden eyes smoldering. I faintly remembered how those eyes used to made my knees go weak. For any other girl they still would've done the trick. But I needed another pair of golden eyes.

"And I meant it when I told you in the car that I don't love you anymore," I said to him, a bit ashamed of myself for being so cold. But only a bit.

"Bella, I know you're angry with me now. I understand perfectly," Edward told me and took another two steps closer.

I shook my head. "I'm not angry," I said. It was true. I wasn't angry anymore. Now that I knew I loved Alice and she loved me back, there was no reason for me to be mad at Edward, even though his actions had been really stupid.

Edward had taken some more steps towards my bed. He was standing right next to the edge. I wished he would take a few steps back, because the last thing I wanted was for him to sit on the bed.

"I just don't love you anymore," I said, ending my argument in this matter.

"You came to save me from Volterra," Edward said and finally sat on the edge of my bed.

I shuffled backwards to sit with my back against the headboard, as far from Edward as possible.

"That must mean something. You still care about me," he continued and leaned forward, towards me.

"Edward, I never said I didn't care about you," I said, trying my hardest to avoid his eyes, "but the I certainly didn't go to Volterra because of you."

I didn't like the direction to which this conversation was going. I hadn't had a chance to discuss with Alice whether we were going to announce our feelings towards each other in public. And with public I mean the other Cullens. But what if Edward already knew? He had read Alice's thoughts and he knew everything! I didn't like all the uncertainty either.

"You didn't now? Well I wonder why you did it then," Edward whispered, moving closer to me, and I had no escape route.

"Edward, if I were you, I would take three steps back. No, make it five," a voice called from the window. This one made my stomach lurch in that sweetly painful way, that indicated my need to get closer to the person whom that particular voice belonged to.

Edward stiffened and a low growl erupted from his chest.

"Of course, that's only if I were you. But this is hardly the place for a fight, since Charlie might wake up," my dear pixie's voice sounded again. My eyes that had been locked to the face of the advancing Edward, darted towards the source of the most beautiful voice in the universe.

Alice stood beside my window. In the light of the street lamps outside I could see that she had changed her clothes, and was wearing a white button-down shirt with my favourite black vest that suited her so well I could've cried just for how unfair the world was that some people were breathtakingly beautiful and some (including me) were not. The black skinny jeans she wore complimented her slender legs. Her spiky hair emphasized the enraged look on her face. I couldn't help but wonder how she'd managed to keep her voice so even.

Alice's gaze met mine and she walked closer to me, occasionally looking at Edward, who hadn't moved an inch.

"Edward, I mean it. Step away from her. _Now_," Alice growled, now angrily.

Suddenly Edward moved. He lurched towards Alice, aiming at her waist. Alice dodged and put her index finger on her lips.

"Quiet, Edward. You'll wake Charlie up. Now, please leave," she said, nodding towards the open window.

"You can't order me away from her, Alice," Edward growled back at her.

This was getting ridiculous. I just wanted to talk to Alice.

"Can I order you to leave?" I asked sternly.

Both Edward and Alice turned to look at me, Alice with appreciation, and Edward with defeat.

"Yes. If you ask me to go, I will," he said and nodded.

"Good. Could you please go? I'd like to talk to Alice," I said.

"Goodnight, Bella. You have been, you are, and you will always be my love," Edward said softly and made his way through the window.

"Always the drama queen," Alice huffed and shook her head.

"Does he know?" I asked. I hadn't planned to blurt it out like that, but I wanted to know.

"Oh, about me kissing you? No, he doesn't," Alice said and walked to my bed.

I made her some space and she sat next to me, wrapping her arm around my shoulder. Something about her concerned me. There was something in her tone that alarmed me. It was so...lighthearted? I had personally considered the kiss absolutely wonderful, and her telling me she loved me had been the most precious moment of my life so far. Why was she so matter-of-fact about this?

"Alice, is everything okay?" I asked quietly.

"What do you mean? Everything's fine," she answered, but something was off.

"Something tells me that something isn't fine with you. What's the matter? You can tell me," I said.

Then I asked the question that had just occurred to me, but I really didn't want to think was even possible:

"Is this about the kiss? Was it a mistake in your opinion?"

Alice looked at me sheepishly. No, could it be? She regretted it? I could feel my world crush. She didn't love me after all.

"It wasn't a mistake, Bella," she finally said, and I could breathe again.

"And I meant it when I said that I loved you. I do, truly," she continued, and my fears were washed away.

"Then what's wrong?" I asked again.

Alice sighed deeply.

"Nothing is wrong. I'm trying to tell myself that as well. It's just that I have never felt anything like this before. I thought I loved Jasper like this, but now I can see that we probably weren't mates after all. But what I've always thought was that I was straight. Being in love with a girl, even with such an amazing girl as you, is all new to me. I don't know how to be," she said.

So _that's _what this is all about! I was relieved. I felt the similar emotions too. If I were to have a relationship with Alice, the society would be harsh on us. Being gay wouldn't be easy, but I was sure we could do this together. I turned so that I could look straight at Alice and gently stroked the length of her cheekbone.

"I know how you feel, Alice. But don't you worry. We're in this together and I know we can make this work. I want to, because I love you," I told her.

Alice suddenly threw herself at me, wrapping her arms tightly around my neck.

"I might just be the luckiest vampire ever to have you," she mumbled against my throat, where she had buried her face. Inside, I was sort of glad to see this kind of uncertainty in Alice. It made us more equal, when neither one was stronger than the other. Well, physically she was stronger, but you know what I mean.

I planted a kiss on Alice's head, inhaling her sweet scent.

"You'll be the second luckiest when you change me." I smiled at the thought of me being a vampire, forever at Alice's side. I could keep my best friend and beloved forever and nothing could come between us.

Alice let go of me then, shaking her head.

"You're silly," she said and I could hear from her voice that she was smiling. I couldn't see her face though, because it was dark. I reached to the lamp on my bedside table and switched it on. Seeing Alice's face in the yellowish light had never felt so great.

"You know, Bella, I need to ask you something," she said. I didn't have a clue what was about to come, so I just nodded.

Alice shuffled a few inches away from me and positioned herself in front of me, sitting on her knees. Her eyes caught mine and she took my hand in hers.

"Since Esme and Carlisle have raised us to be polite and all, I thought I should do this how it's supposed to go," she said.

Call me slow, but I still didn't have a clue.

"Isabella Swan, will you, for now, be my girlfriend, and when I change you, my mate?" Alice asked and gave my hand a squeeze.

Oh my goodness. I wasn't prepared for this. The way she put it was just like from the novels I liked to read, apart from the mate thing. Afraid that my voice would break, I just nodded furiously. Alice smiled widely and pulled me back into her arms.

"Thank you, honey," she whispered and I felt her lips place soft kisses on my face and hair.

Despite the amazingness of the moment, I was getting really tired. I didn't manage to stifle a yawn that forced itself out of me. Alice giggled.

"Bed time for the human," she said and pushed me down gently.

I fell on my back on the bed and Alice tucked me in. Then she laid down next to me, yet again wrapping her arms around me. I snuggled closer to her body, the coolness of it soothing me. I still wasn't quite healthy, and my fever was rising again. Suddenly something occurred to me. I pulled away from Alice to look at her.

"Alice? What about Jasper?" I asked and watched as Alice's face displayed a variety of emotions. Then, she opened her mouth.

"Well, like I told you, I haven't seen him in months. I think we both knew that we were growing apart. I still care about him, and I'm sure he cares about me too, but I can't honestly believe that he would think things will be the same when the family will reunite," she said.

I couldn't help but feel sad for them. Throughout the time I'd known the Cullens, Alice and Jasper had seemed to fit perfectly, like they'd been meant for each other. Now, that love story had ended and it was bound to leave a mark on both of them. Alice wouldn't have anything to worry about, because I would be there to help her, and support her, but who would fix Jasper?

"I'm really sorry, Alice," I said, stroking her hair.

"Don't be, dearest. I love you, and I don't want anybody else but you," she said and pressed her lips against mine again.

Kissing a girl is so much different than kissing a boy. You would think that kissing the boy of your dreams is the best kiss there is, but I can tell you, that kissing the _girl_ of your dreams is far better. Alice's lips were so soft on mine, never rough, yet full of emotion. She didn't press too hard, or dart her tongue around like a maniac. In fact, she didn't use her tongue at all, and still she managed to get the message through. She loved me exclusively. Her fingers traced my cheeks and neck as I tangled my fingers in her short raven hair. Alice's lips moved away from my own, only to attach themselves to my cheek, and from there they moved to my forehead.

"I promise I won't leave," she whispered. I wasn't sure if she meant this night, or the rest of our lives, but both of them suited me just fine.

"I don't want you to leave," I whispered back.

"Good," Alice said and gave me a final peck on the lips. Then she pulled by blanket all the way over my ears.

"How do you think your family will react to this?" I asked her as her eyes observed me tenderly.

She propped herself up on her elbows and leaned her head on her hands.

"I think," she started, "that they will accept me. Or us," she added, smiling. "They will love me, no matter what. All they want is to see me happy."

That brought comfort to me, since I really didn't have a clue of what Charlie would think about all of this. I hadn't talked about homosexuality with him, so I didn't know how strongly he opposed the idea of two people of the same gender loving each other. As a matter of fact, I was scared that he would disown me.

"Don't worry, Bella," Alice said and put a strand of my hair behind my ear with her index finger. "Charlie will still love you. After all, he is your father. And if it ever would happen that, God forbid, he would throw you out, you will always have a home at my place."

"Thank you, Alice," I said and kissed her cheek. It felt reassuring to know I always had a place to go.

"Anytime, sweetie."

There was a short silence, during which Alice and I just looked at each other. There were no words needed in that moment. Just her and I, and our hearts so full of emotion it was almost tangible.

"Say Bella," Alice started. "Have you ever had a crush on a girl before?"

That was an easy question. "No," I answered. "You are the first girl I've ever liked. Liked, as in romantic means."

Alice giggled at my last, awkward sentence. "Well, I've never liked a girl before either, you know, in romantic means."

I swatted her, though knowing it wouldn't hurt her a bit. That made her giggle even more. I was happy to see that even though we had these newly found emotions towards each other, we could still be best friends, and not only lovers. The idea was comforting, since I really didn't know how to be with a girl.

"Goodnight, Alice," I said with a smile on my face.

"Goodnight, Bella, _querido_," Alice answered me.

I'd gone through enough of high school Spanish to understand what she'd just called me. It made me blush furiously and I covered my face with my hands.

"Don't cover your face, silly," Alice said and pulled my hands off my face. She was trying to hide a smile. I glowered at her playfully.

"Aww, don't do that!" Alice squealed and kissed the tip of my nose. I giggled.

"Go to sleep now," she cooed. "I'll be here when you wake up."

I nodded and closed my eyes. Alice continued to stroke my hair. The feeling of her hand moving over my head and back soothed me and I started to get groggy.

"Sweet dreams, Bella. I'm so happy I'm finally with you again. This time, it will be forever," Alice whispered, and that was the last thing I heard before falling asleep. Although, I'm not quite sure if you could call it _falling_ asleep, since I was still floating.

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><p><strong>So, what do you guys think? What will Charlie say? How do you think he should react to this? Gimme some pieces of your minds, guys! And don't forget to leave some reviews to make me happy :) Also, I'm attempting to start a comment question thing as a part of this story. The comment questions can be seen here, in the end of each chapter. The first comment question is: if you were to go to school with your new girlboyfriend for the first time, how would you act? Please leave your answers as reviews. Annnd, don't forget to suggest a question for the comment question of the next chapter!**

**Until then,**

**Peace, love, Twilight.**

**Luv,**

**AC**


	8. Sleep

**Hello sweet people! You'll never guess where I am right now. Okay, okay, I'll tell you. I'm in Italy! The streets are packed with people, and it's seriously a pain to try to get through the crowd, especially when every person is holding an umbrella. But let' cut to the chase now. I have another chapter for you guys. It's a filler, just to make the transition smoother, but I hope you guys enjoy it just the same. Go ahead, or as I've learned from here, 'Prego!'**

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><p><span>Chapter 7 - Sleep<span>

_I was just standing there, staring at the trees in front of me. My heart was beating fast, and my breathing was heavy. It was like I'd just run a few miles full speed, except that there was no fatigue in my legs. In fact, I was braced to run away. Adrenalin was rushing through my veins and I heard my frantic heartbeat in my ears like a jungle drum. Primal, purely instinctual. These drums, however didn't call for battle. I was scared beyond any measure. Beside me, I could feel someone move, but I couldn't take my eyes off the trees. I had to face the intruder. I couldn't look away. The person next to me touched my shoulder swiftly to get my attention. Still, I couldn't move. Suddenly there was a loud 'puff,' and I couldn't feel any presence next to me anymore. _

"_Don't go," I whispered, but too late. I would have to face the beast in the woods alone._

You would think that you'd get used to waking up drenched in sweat after a few months, but the experience is always as shocking. My breath came in as short, irregular pants, and my fingers were once again tangled into my sheets, my hands balled into tight fists. Despite all of this, I wasn't afraid. I knew someone would soon wrap their arms around me in comfort. I laid there, catching my breath, waiting for those arms to come. Eventually I looked to my side, and found my bed empty. The shock I had already felt doubled as I searched for Alice and couldn't find her. When the shock faded, it was replaced by a feeling of betrayal. She'd promised to be there when I woke up.

"Are you awake?" came a quiet voice from my door. I turned to look at the incomer and saw Charlie, who was in his house clothes. How long had I slept for?

"You've been out for quite some time. I'd say about..." he checked his watch, "Eighteen hours. It's 7 pm already."

Wow, that _is _a lot of sleep.

"Would you like something to eat, Bells?" he asked. I nodded, since I was really hungry.

I knew what was about to come as I made my way to the dining table where Charlie had set some leftovers. I took a look at the steaming plateful of food on the table. It smelled, and surprisingly also looked like spaghetti. I looked at Charlie, who sat on the chair opposite of me, and arched my eyebrow.

"Sue Clearwater came over to cook for me. Everyone knows I can't cook," he said and laughed.

"You know, Dad," I started. I wanted to get this done and over with. "I'm really sorry for leaving like that." I wasn't sure what to tell him. No one had thought about a backup story for mine and Alice's little trip.

Charlie nodded. "You have to understand that I was worried sick, Bella. I won't tolerate anything like that in this house," he said. His voice was soft, a bit unsure, but I could see that he meant it. I'm sure he hadn't had to say anything like that before in other circumstances than being a cop.

"I promise I won't do that ever again," I said.

"Make sure that you won't. I can somehow see why you did it, though. Alice explained it to me last night. Still, just to make sure nothing like this happens again, you will be grounded," Charlie said and tapped his fingers on the surface of the dining table.

"Grounded until when?" I asked.

I didn't like this at all. I wanted to be able to go as I wished. The punishment was inevitable, though. I just hoped it wouldn't last that long, since it seemed like I would have lots to do outside the house with a special someone. _If_ she would show up occasionally. I was still bitter because of she hadn't been there when I woke up.

"You'll be grounded until graduation," Charlie said.

Graduation? Did I hear correctly? I would have to survive four months without seeing anyone. This was horrible, but I didn't show it. I knew I'd deserved my punishment.

"Okay," I said and shoved some spaghetti into my mouth. It also_ tasted_ like spaghetti.

Charlie looked thunderstruck. "Okay? That's it? No teenage rage about freedom of the individual or anything?" he asked me, his mustache twitching.

"I deserve my punishment, Dad. There's no reason to whine about it," I just said, and ate some more.

There was also another reason why I wanted to be as tolerant of my punishment as possible and accept it. I knew that sometime pretty soon, I would need Charlie to be tolerant and accepting of me.

"Then you also should know that Edward Cullen isn't allowed inside this house," Charlie said.

I supposed he thought it would be a big deal for me. Truthfully, after what happened last night, I really didn't give a rat's ass if Edward came over or not.

"Yeah, I can see why," I told Charlie. "I'll probably live."

"You aren't so fond of him anymore, are you?" he asked.

"Not really, no," I said and nodded.

Suddenly the doorbell rang and interrupted our little conversation.

"I'll go get it, Bells. You just finish your dinner," Charlie said and stood up.

"Oh, Alice! So nice to see you here!" he cried happily when he opened the door.

As soon as I heard Alice's name I turned towards the door. She was standing at our doorstep, wearing a grey sweatshirt with leather patches on the elbows. She turned to look at me and smiled her dazzling smile.

"Hi, Bella!" she greeted me and waved.

"Now, don't be a stranger. Come on in," Charlie invited and Alice stepped in, closing the door behind her.

"I just came over to check if Bella was alright," she said as Charlie led her towards the dining table. "She caught a cold after her cliff diving incident and I've been trying to do what I can to help her get better."

She sat on the chair next to me and flashed another smile at me. I returned it, fully aware of the fact that my smile was definitely not as dazzling as hers. I suppose it's a Cullen thing. Charlie seemed perfectly happy as he sat on his favourite chair in the living room. I guess Alice was still allowed in the house. I looked at her quizzically to ask about why she hadn't been there when I'd woken up. She motioned towards the stairs and I decided to finish my dinner quickly. After stuffing the last remains of spaghetti in my mouth, I took my plate and put it into the dishwasher.

"Dad, we're going upstairs!" I called to Charlie. He just nodded.

Alice followed me into my room and as soon as the door shut she spoke.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here when you woke up. I really had to hunt and I saw Charlie was coming shortly after so I couldn't be here," she said and looked at me from beneath her eyelashes.

"It's alright," I said. "I understand that you have to hunt. It was a tough time for you in Italy. It must've worn you out."

Alice stepped closer to me, away from the door, bouncing a bit on the balls of her feet.

"Thank you for understanding, Bella," she said and took a deep breath. Then she leaned closer and captured my lips with hers for a fleeting moment. There are some things in our lives that we never get used to. I was sure that kissing Alice would be one of those for me.

"Did you see your family while you were away?" I asked her as she detached her lips from mine and the kiss turned into an embrace.

"Yeah, I did," she mumbled into my shoulder. "Edward wasn't there though, so I didn't have to be worried about protecting my thoughts."

That was good to hear. I'd thought about Edward and how he would cope with knowing I didn't love him anymore, and whether or not he knew about the feelings Alice and I held for each other.

"Did you say something do your family?" I asked. I actually wanted to ask her if her family already knew about us, but I didn't want to be too straightforward.

"Well, I _talked_ to them, but nothing about us, don't worry," Alice said and kissed my cheek. Then she danced to my bed and jumped to sit on it.

"So how was your sleep?" she asked and cocked her head. I joined her on my bed and laid there, placing my head in her lap.

"It was pretty good, thank you very much," I said in a mockingly polite tone, smiling sweetly.

"You know, before I left, I heard some of your sleep talking," Alice said, grinning impishly.

Good God, what had I said? I could be really vocal while dreaming, and I could feel my embarrassment scorching the back of my neck.

"Don't worry, it was nothing too bad," Alice giggled and ruffled my hair. I suppose she'd recognized the embarrassed expression on my face.

"What did I say then?" I asked.

"Well, you mentioned Charlie. I think you were really guilty for leaving like that," she started, rubbing her chin.

That was true. I had been awfully guilty. I knew that it was hard for him to survive alone, since he really didn't know anything about housework, especially cooking.

"You said my name," Alice continued and I jumped, lifting my head up from her lap. I didn't want her to think that I was over enthusiastic about her. Well, I was definitely in love with her, but I didn't want to seem obsessive.

"You seriously worry too much, Bella," Alice said, shaking her head. "It's not a big deal. Besides, it was sort of flattering."

She patted her lap, implying that she wanted me to return to my previous position. I obliged and leaned my head back to where it was.

"So..." I started. There was too much that I wanted to say or ask. I didn't know where to start.

"So what?" Alice asked.

"How are we going to deal with this," I pointed from me to her and back again. "Thing?"

"Ohh..." said Alice and she ruffled her hair a bit. "To be honest, I'm not really sure about what to do."

That was a first. Alice had always seemed like a person who knows what she's doing, but this time, she even looked clueless. Well, it was obvious, since this was the first gay experience she'd ever had. Just like me.

"Well, you know what? I don't know either," I laughed and grabbed her hand in mine.

"I'm so relieved that I'm not the only one. It's so unusual for me not to know what to do. I'm a bit baffled," she said and kissed the back of my hand. "But I do know I love you."

Like many times before, those three words sent a million butterflies fluttering around my stomach. In addition, my cheeks were turning raging pink. I placed my hands on my face to hide my blush, peeking through my fingers.

"I love you too," I said, and Alice beamed happily at me.

"But in all seriousness, what should we do?" she asked.

I sat up and turned to face her, crossing my legs. "Well, you said your parents will support you, right?" I reminded her of the conversation we'd had.

"Yeah, I said that. But it's still...weird, you know?" she said and I nodded in agreement.

"I know what you mean. I don't know what Charlie thinks of gays so it's hard to predict what's going to..." I started, and then something occurred to me. I looked to Alice, who had obviously realized the same thing.

"Predict, you say?" she uttered. "That's my area of expertise."

"So what you're saying is..."

"We'll decide to tell Charlie and see what he'll say," Alice finished my sentence.

"I love your gift," I said as she leaned forward to kiss me. When she pulled away she looked at me with a peculiar expression.

"Love my gift?" she asked and arched an eyebrow.

I nodded. "Yup, I do." One of the things I liked the most about Alice was that she had a good sense of humor and that she knew when I was only teasing her. She knew perfectly well that I loved every single part of her.

"Okay then, come on, I believe we have something to do," Alice said and pulled me off the bed as she stood up.

"What?" I shrieked and fell on my butt on the floor. I hadn't realized that it would happen _this_ soon.

"Aren't we going to tell Charlie?" Alice asked and pulled me up.

"Isn't this a bit soonish?" I asked, unsure if I wanted Charlie to know about this quite yet.

Alice took a step closer to me. "I'm sorry. I tend to forget that this is new for us. You know me, I get excited easily," she said.

I pulled her close by the waist and she rested her head on my shoulder. Her arms wrapped themselves around my waist, her fingers drawing small circles on the small of my back.

"Will you forgive me?" she asked and her lips touched my neck.

Suddenly I heard a loud 'thump' behind me. I turned on my heels, but Alice's arms stayed put around my waist, securing me to her body. Alice growled as we both looked at the person standing in my room.

"I see I might've interrupted something," Jacob said in an arrogant tone. "Sorry, I guess."

"It might be wise to be more respectful of Bella's privacy, mutt!" Alice hissed. She was very pissed.

"Shh, Alice, it's fine," I told her and placed my hands on top of hers on my lower stomach.

"See, leech? She says it's fine," Jacob said and grinned. "Too bad she's chosen to hang out in bad company."

"Jake, that's not okay," I snapped. "I'm the one you're mad at, okay? Don't bring it down on Alice."

"How could I ever be mad at you, Bella?" he asked, taking a step forward. That made Alice's arms tighten around me a bit.

"It's those damn bloodsuckers that I'm mad at! They came here and took you away. I bet your precious Edward is lurking somewhere, ready to continue with your _relationship_ as if he'd never left you. _They _left Forks. _They _broke you. I'm mad at _them,_" Jacob spat. "I can't understand why you went back with them. Just look at you," he motioned towards me and Alice, "all cuddly and shit."

Then he looked at Alice, with eyes filled with hatred. "I know you're her friend. I don't like it, but I happen to know it. But you can tell your brother, and actually your whole bunch of leeches that I'm going to fight for Bella. Edward ought to know that I'll beat him no matter what. Soon, I'll be in your position there."

That made Alice snap. She let out a ferocious snarl and cried: "You will _not_ touch her, you filthy dog! You better not even come close. I swear if you lay a finger on her I'll rip your arm off!"

I had a feeling that my presence was the only thing that kept Alice from attacking him here and now.

"This will be interesting. If she answers like that, I wonder how Edward will respond," Jacob sneered.

"I think it's best that you go now, Jacob," I said, by stern voice cutting the air like a blade.

"Naturally, but I'll be back," Jake said, did a mock bow and climbed out of my window.

Even when he was gone, Alice wouldn't budge from where she stood. She stared at the window, as if something would come in again.

"Alice, it's okay now," I said, but nothing happened. I was starting to get a bit uncomfortable. Why was she acting like that? This was really weird. I tried to turn in her arms, and she loosened her arms for me to do so.

"Alice? You're scaring me. What are you doing?" I asked, my voice a bit higher than usual.

That woke Alice up. "I'm so sorry Bella. I shouldn't have done that. I don't know what got into me," she said and positioned herself so that my head was snuggled against her neck. Her lips were kissing my hair and her arms rubbed my back.

"I'm sorry I scared you," she whispered.

"It's alright, Alice. Just remember that I'm a big girl and can handle intruding werewolves pretty well," I said and tilted my head to kiss her.

"I seriously doubt it, but whatever you say," she laughed and shrugged. "So, no telling Charlie today?"

I shook my head. "I don't think I'm ready. I'm sorry, Alice. It's not you."

"Don't worry. We have plenty of time. But what about school. It starts the day after tomorrow," Alice reminded, making my stomach jolt.

I'd completely forgotten about school. I didn't do PDA. Well, I'd sone some with Edward, but I wasn't ready to come out of the closet at school yet.

"How about just being best friends at school?" I suggested, hoping Alice wouldn't take it the wrong way. I wasn't nowhere near embarrassed of her. On the contrary, when the time would come, I'd be proud to be seen as her girlfriend. I just wasn't ready for it yet and I hoped Alice would understand it.

I saw how Alice's posture slumped a bit. It was almost unnoticeable, but the expression on her face gave her away. She was sad. She'd taken it the wrong way.

"Alice," I said softly and touched her face. She turned her face down.

"You don't want to be with me at school," she said. It was not a question.

"Hey, look at me," I said and stroked her hair.

When she lifted her head up a bit, I caught her eyes with mine. "I _want _to be with you at all times. I'm just not comfortable to come out at school yet," I told her. "I'm not the slightest ashamed of being with you."

Alice's face melted into a soft smile. "Yeah, I suppose it would be good to get used to it ourselves first," she said, took my hand and kissed it. "Let's take it slow."

I took a look at my alarm clock on the bedside table. It was already nine-thirty pm.

"Your sleeping rhythm is totally messed up, am I right?" Alice asked. I groaned and nodded. I didn't feel like sleeping at all, since I'd woken up about two hours ago.

"Tomorrow is going to be hell."

"I'll pick you up, okay?" Alice offered.

Would that be too obvious? The first time Edward picked me up, everyone realized we were dating. But friends can carpool right?

"Sure, that would be great. But just in case anyone asks, tell them my truck's broken," I said and Alice smiled. I was glad I could patch things up a bit by letting her do things to me. Besides, some extra time with Alice sounded incredible.

"Yay! I'll take Esme's car. Someday I'll get myself one of those yellow Porsches I drove in Italy. I might ask for one for Christmas," she said and bounced on the balls of her feet excitedly.

I swear, the Cullens are the only people I know who can seriously think about getting a sports car for Christmas.

"Rosalie might even get me one. She's the reason why we had to make that trip to Italy, so she even owes me one," Alice said.

I'd already forgotten about that. It had been Rosalie who'd told Edward about me jumping off a cliff. It would probably be really weird to see them at school tomorrow. What if Edward found out about me and Alice? I'd been worrying about that for quite some time, but I didn't want to show that to Alice. But just in case...

"How are you going to keep this from Edward?" I asked Alice.

"Like usually when I don't want him to know something. I sing stupid songs in my head. It irritates him so much he likes to keep away from my thoughts. I have to be extra careful now that he wants to win you back. I don't want to give him any secret weapons," she answered.

Edward didn't stand a chance against Alice. As if I'd go back to him. Such a foolish boy.

"Would you like to try sleeping?" Alice asked and I decided that it would be wise. After all, I'd have to be all shiny tomorrow.

"I'll go shower," I said, "you stay here." I took my bag of toiletries and pajamas, and went to the bathroom.

It was heavenly to finally get into a warm shower. I hadn't been able to take a bath or anything in Italy. The relaxing water washed away all the filth on my body, and after a shower that had taken a pretty good deal of time, I toweled myself and changed. After saying goodnight to Charlie downstairs, I hurried back to my room. I was glad he didn't ask about Alice, because she hadn't left yet.

"You kept me waiting," Alice said from my bed. She'd turned off the lights, but left the lamp on my bedside table on, so that I could see her. She was mesmerizingly beautiful in the dim light that hit her only just, making her skin glow almost magically.

I climbed in bed, and Alice tucked me in like the night before.

"I can't be here in the morning, because we have school and all. I have to get ready. But I'll be here to pick you up, okay?" she said and stroked my hair.

"Okay. Will you stay until I fall asleep though? I could use some help in that part," I said and smiled.

"Definitely," Alice whispered and kissed me, gently cupping my face.

"Goodnight, sweetie," she said as our lips detached.

"Night, Alice," I mumbled back.

Alice stayed till I fell asleep, and needless to say, I dreamed calmly that night.

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><p>My alarm went off at half past six. In short, it was pure torture. I felt the effects of my sleep deprivation in every single cell of my body. Without any choice, I slowly lifted my butt off the bed and lulled to the bathroom to brush my teeth and comb my hair. After that, I went back to my room to change. I was about to open my wardrobe, but there was a sticky note on the door saying: 'Look onto your desk,' so I decided to obey the note first. As I'd expected, there was a pile of clothes I'd never seen before, and I bet there were tags on them as well. There was an envelope on top of the pile. I opened it and found it to contain a note, written with a very elegant, feminine script: 'Yes, you have to wear them.' This was <em>so<em> Alice it wasn't even funny. I decided not to get her upset, and changed into the high fashion clothes she had picked for me. They weren't half bad. Designer skinny jeans, a buttoned blouse, and some matching jewelry weren't much outside my comfort zone. Just the part that they must've cost gazillions.

Charlie hadn't left yet as I marched downstairs with my school bag after changing and putting on some makeup.

"Morning, sunshine. You look smart today," he said when I passed him on my way to the kitchen to fix myself some breakfast.

That took me by surprise, since Charlie never noticed how I looked, or at least he didn't mention it.

"Thanks, dad," I said, feeling baffled to say the least.

I'd just finished eating my breakfast cereal when there was a knock on the door. Charlie peered out of the window and scratched his head.

"Why is Alice picking you up?" he asked.

"She wanted to," I shrugged. I didn't want to lie much, because I really sucked at it.

I almost flew to the door and opened it to see Alice's smiling face.

"Hi," I said breathlessly, looking at her gorgeous eyes that were smoldering with emotion.

"Morning," she answered, enveloping me into a hug and pressing her lips gently on my cheek.

After she let go I had to glance around to make sure Charlie hadn't seen anything. My worry was needless, since Charlie was occupied with his newspaper. I grabbed my school bag and both Alice and I said goodbye to him. He harrumphed something in response.

Like she'd said, Alice had taken Esme's car. She drove a blue Mini Cooper, which I found endearing.

"Milady," Alice grinned as she opened the shotgun door for me.

"Why thank you. You're such a gentlewoman," I laughed and climbed in.

The closer we got to the school, the more nervous I got. Even though we'd decided not to show our new relationship openly, I was concerned of how normally I could act with Alice around. There was also the fact that the Cullens would be back now and it would attract extra attention, because I'd be obviously hanging out with them again.

Alice squeezed my hand when she parked the Cooper in front of the school.

"I had Esme pick my schedule yesterday," she told me. "So I can start straight away. I have English, Gym, and Biology with you. Edward is in the same Bio class with us."

Alice mentioning Edward made my stomach even more painful than it already was.

"Don't worry. I'll be there," she said and opened her door. She walked around the car to open mine as well and I jumped out.

We walked to the main building, our arms brushing at times, and I saw every single person first giving us a glance, then another, longer stare, and soon the whole parking lot was full of ogling people. I could tell that the day would be absolutely ghastly.

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><p><strong>So, how was it? Tell me. Pretty please. I love getting critique from you guys. It makes it easier to write good chappies for y'all :)<strong>

**Ciao!**

**Luv,**

**AC**


	9. School

**Ciao, everyone! Italy was amazing! The coolest part was when we found a Porsche parked in front of our hotel. Haha. This was a cool chapter to write and I hope I succeeded in winning your agreement. Alright, you can read the chapter now.**

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><p><span>Chapter 8 - School<span>

Alice and I walked inside. Everyone was staring at us. Of course, I'd known this would happen. Everyone had stared at the Cullens even when they last attended school. Now, they super stared, because they hadn't been able to do so for months. Luckily, Alice and I would have the first period, English, together.

"Everyone is staring," I grumbled as we passed the secretary's office.

"It could always be worse," Alice said, smiling at the passing students. She obviously had gotten used to all of this.

"Please enlighten me. How could it be worse?" I asked.

"Well, if this annoys you, think of how it'll be when we come out," she answered.

Again, everything she said made perfect sense. They would stare us down. Eventually when I'd join the Cullens, they would stare at me wherever I went. And when they'd realize me and Alice were together, there would also be whispering, pointing, and occasional homophobic remarks.

"Sorry, Bella. I scared you. Don't worry, you don't have to do anything now," Alice said worriedly and placed her hand on my shoulder.

"It's alright. It's just a bit overwhelming. I mean, I'm going to be one of you and it's going to be like this every day for me then for the rest of eternity, right?" I said, enjoying the cool comfort Alice's hand brought.

Alice nodded. "Yup, that's about right."

"Bella!" someone called behind me, and I heard running footsteps.

As I turned around, Alice's hand fell from my shoulder. I faced Mike Newton, who wore the friendly smile I'd already gotten used to.

"Hi! I didn't know Alice was back," he said, waving at Alice first, and then looking at me. "How long is she staying?"

I noticed the hopeful tinge in his voice. He was probably under the impression that Alice was only visiting me.

"Until graduation I hope," Alice answered for herself. It was obvious that Mike didn't have the guts to talk straight to her.

His face fell as he heard the news. "Are the others back as well?" he asked, looking for evidence of me and Edward getting back together I suspected. Or probably hoping not to find any.

"All of us are, except for Emmett and Rosalie, of course. Jasper will get back a little bit later, since he still has something to do in Los Angeles," Alice replied, making Mike's face so defeated looking, that I almost felt sorry for the poor fellow.

"Oh, alright. Hey, Bella, I'll see you in Math!" and he was gone for the moment.

"I have to say, I don't like him hitting on you," Alice muttered. The contrast between her graceful form and her grumpy expression was hilarious and a giggle escaped my mouth.

"What are you laughing at?" she asked as we started to walk again.

"You," I said and gave her a little nudge. "Don't worry, Mike Newton doesn't have any effect on me, that's for damn sure."

Alice's frown morphed into a smile. "Are you ready for English?" she asked and I saw that we'd reached the classroom door.

"Ugh, let's just go," I groaned and walked inside.

"Ah, Miss Cullen! How wonderful to see you again," Mr. Berty exclaimed when he turned to us and saw Alice. "Please take your seats, girls, we'll be starting momentarily."

"Bella!" another familiar voice called me from the back of the classroom.

Angela waved at me happily, motioning towards two empty desks in front of her.

"Do you want to sit with Angela?" I asked Alice. "We can always..."

"No, let's sit with Angela. I'd sort of like to sit with normal people for a change," she said. "This is sort of a new start for me."

I wasn't sure of how Angela would react to the presence of Alice. I hoped she'd act normal, and not be all tense or super excited. You know, the reaction you get from people who get into close contact with the Cullens. Alice and I walked to the seats Angela had pointed us.

"Hey, Alice! It's great to see you after such a long time!" Angela greeted, smiling kindly.

"Hi, Angela!" Alice smiled back to her. "It's great to be back." She gave me a sly smile.

"Alright, class! Let's begin!" Mr. Berty shouted and the class fell quiet.

Throughout the duration of the class, people whispered. The Cullens were in town again. They'd been away for a few months and come back. What had they done while gone? Rumors spread, bets were made. Alice was very entertained as she listened to our classmates and told me what they said. When about a half of the period had passed, I heard Angela whisper:

"Alice, I'm sorry for all the whispering. It's really not their business."

See, this is why I liked Angela. She was kind and her kindness was unconditional.

Alice turned around and placed her hand on Angela's desk. "Thanks, Angela," she said sincerely.

"Hey, would you two like to sit with me and Ben at lunch today?" Angela asked.

I looked at Alice, who didn't stop smiling. "Yeah, I'm in," she said. "Bella?"

"Sure thing. Thanks, Ang" I said and smiled too. Apart from the whispering and extra attention, the day was going surprisingly well.

* * *

><p>After English, Alice walked me to Spanish.<p>

"I've really gotten used to being around you 24/7, you know," she said as we stopped behind my classroom door.

"Me too, around you," I said. "Spanish is going to be stupid. And Math..."

"You know, if that Mike Newton even touches you in a wrong way, I'll kill him," Alice frowned.

"Shh, stop saying stuff like that. I'll eat him for lunch if he tries anything," I soothed her and ruffled her hair. That wasn't too obvious, wasn't it?

"Sure. Okay, I'm going to Art now. See you at lunch, hun," Alice said, took my hand for a second, and gave it a squeeze. Then she turned around and walked away with her graceful, gazelle-like stride.

Spanish was the usual, boring thing. Don't get me wrong, I like Spanish as a subject. It's Jessica and her excessive blabbering that bores me to death. Like I'd expected, Mike was waiting outside the classroom when we got out. He'd acted like a golden retriever since I'd come out of my coma and started to talk to people again. Luckily Math classroom was close to Spanish, so I could escape him soon and join Angela in my seat. Math was tolerable with Angela there, keeping me company and hating on the subject. During the period we caught up a bit, since I hadn't been much company during my bad months, and she also wanted to know about the Cullens.

"It's really not my business, but as your friend, I'd like to know. What happened with Edward?" she asked me while the teacher blabbered about parabolas.

"Well, we broke up," I told her, staying pretty close to the truth.

"Oh, okay. How is he? I saw him today and he looked grumpy," she mused and I had to use all the strength I had in me not to laugh. He was such a drama king.

"He's working on it," I told her and let myself have a little laugh. Angela joined me for a while.

"Men are trouble. But don't worry, Bella, I'm sure you'll find someone again. Make sure you tell me when you find him," she said and for a moment I thought about telling her about Alice, but I decided to talk with Alice before coming out to anyone.

After the period, Angela and I took off towards the cafeteria. Ben joined us at the entrance. I searched for Alice when we entered the cafeteria.

"Can you see her?" Angela asked.

"No..." I trailed off, because I suddenly spotted her.

She was engaged in a heated conversation with Edward. Suddenly, both of their heads jumped up and turned to my direction. Alice snapped something at Edward, and walked to us, smiling brightly.

"Hi guys! Great to see you, Ben," she greeted us and threw an arm around my shoulder.

I realized I was almost too careful when around Alice at school. Friends were allowed to touch each other. I remembered times when me and Alice had walked around the school, our arms linked together. Yes, I was definitely too careful. I wrapped my arm around her waist casually to make it clear to Alice that I was feeling comfortable.

"Aww, look at you two," Angela cooed. "Just like Alice was never gone."

I tried to fight against the pink that was sneaking its way on my cheeks again.

"Okay, people, I'm starving," Ben said and the four of us walked to the line.

Nobody seemed to notice that Alice didn't buy anything. I was so glad Angela and Ben were acting like themselves. I might even get used to this. We set our trays onto a free table and sat down. Ben attacked his food instantly, mumbling how hungry he was not having eaten breakfast at all. The rest of us laughed at him and Angela started a conversation with Alice about her life in LA. Alice, sitting next to me, answered her questions with an admirable poker face, and held my hand under the table. I couldn't help but feel uneasy about her fight with Edward. We would have Biology next, and he would be there with us, so we'd have to watch what we'd talk about, and Alice would have to be extra careful with her thoughts.

"Bella, I'm really happy for you that the Cullens are back. I was getting really worried about you. Hanging out with Alice has definitely made you cheer up," Angela said, smiling warmly.

I looked at Alice, who smiled as well, but her eyes were twinkling with sweet emotion.

"Yeah, I missed her like mad," I said, trying to retain my composure.

"Aren't you eating, Bella?" Ben asked. He had obviously finished his lunch, since before that, the only thing we could hear from him was munching.

I looked at my tray, which still held the apple and sandwich I'd bought.

"Oh, I'm not that hungry. I don't even know why I bought these," I told Ben. "Are you still hungry?"

"Hell yeah, I am!" he exclaimed.

I laughed and pushed my tray towards him. It didn't take much time for him to finish my lunch as well.

"Should we go, Angie? We have Gym, so we should get ready," he asked after dropping the apple core onto the tray.

Angela checked the time. "Yes, you're right, we should run." Then she looked at me and Alice. "It was great to hang out with you guys. Would you like to eat with us tomorrow?"

"It would be great," Alice said and I agreed.

"Awesome, we'll see you tomorrow!" Ben said and he and Angela left.

"Should we go as well?" I asked Alice, who nodded in response.

We left the cafeteria smiling at each other.

"It was really cute when you told Angela you'd missed me like mad," Alice said.

"Well, it was true," I said and linked my arm with hers.

Then, I remembered the fight between her and Edward.

"What were you and Edward talking about?"

"Oh, he just wanted me to remember that he'll be fighting for you. I hope you brought your armor, because he'll be coming on to you in Bio," Alice said jokingly.

"Oh no," I grumbled. "Just please try to keep your thoughts at bay, even if he tries something."

"It's going to be hard, to be honest. I feel really protective of you. You're my mate-to-be, but still so fragile. It sounds animalistic, but we sort of are. Our instincts are primal," Alice said.

It was weird how Edward had never told me about the special bond between mates. He'd never bothered to explain. Perhaps it was his primal instinct talking. I wasn't his mate, so I didn't have to know. I'd have to ask Alice about it later.

"Just think about it like this: if Edward finds out, he'll attack the closest thing to him, and if he's hitting on me, he's also going to be close to me," I joked, and Alice let out a small growl.

"There's no chance for him to hurt you," she said, and opened the lab door for me.

We took a place from the other side of the lab than mine and Edward's table had been, just in case. We didn't want to cause any disruptions. Five minutes before the bell would ring, Edward strolled leisurely to the classroom. He walked straight to us.

"Afternoon, Bella. Alice," he said pleasantly. "Say, Bella, why don't you come over there, to our usual spot? Lab partners?" He offered his hand and motioned toward our old lab table with his head.

I chose to play nice since Edward had been polite. "Sorry, Edward, but I already promised Alice I'd be her lab partner," I said and tried to look apologetic as well. Needless to say, I wasn't a good actress.

Edward shot a warning glance at Alice, who smiled confidently.

"Do you mind me stealing your lab partner for a moment, Alice? I'd like to talk to her," he asked, and then jumped a bit.

"Woah, I only asked. There's no need to go ballistic," he exclaimed. I was sure she'd let him read some of her thoughts.

"Alright, talk to her. But no longer than two minutes, _please_," Alice agreed icily.

I looked at her, and she nodded. Edward offered me his hand and pulled me up as I took it. There was no one sitting close to our usual lab table, so he took me there.

"Please, have a seat," he said and pulled me a chair.

"Okay, what's going on?" I asked and sat down.

"I just wanted to talk a bit. The last time was a bit... hostile."

"Well I'm surely not the one to blame, you came in on your own and tried to pull moves on me!" I snapped.

"Yes, about that. I'm awfully sorry. My actions were completely out of line," Edward said sweetly. I remembered how that voice had made me feel faint. Now, the only thing I felt was utter disgust.

All of a sudden, Edward's head snapped up to look at Alice. I looked as well, and saw her sit face towards the teacher's desk, her hands tight fists on the lab table.

What on Earth is wrong with her?" Edward asked, looking back at me.

I tried to keep my composure as I told him I didn't know.

"I know something's up. I just haven't figured it out yet, but believe me, if anything comes between the two of us there'll be hell to pay," he said in such a calm tone it was almost scary.

The teacher walked in and I returned to my seat next to Alice.

"Did you hear that?" I asked her.

"Yes, I certainly did," she answered.

"Okay, class. We'll do some pH testing today. Grab a few test tubes and these unknown substances and start measuring the pH using the indicators assigned for each group on the blackboard," the teacher assigned.

Alice and I went to grab our things from the teacher's desk. We got litmus as our indicator. After measuring the pH of a few substances, Alice ripped out one of the pages of her notebook and started to scribble on it quickly. Soon she gave it to me to read.

_Don't worry about it. We can keep the secret as long as you need._

I took the paper and wrote:

_**Thank you. I'm still afraid of what he'll do.**_

Alice sighed.

_Like I'd let anything happen to you. I love you._

Suddenly, there was a loud 'crash' as someone dropped their test tube rack to the floor. At the same time, Alice's eyes glazed over.

"I'm sorry, sir. I'll clean this up," an awfully handsome voice spoke from across the lab.

Why had Edward acted clumsy?

"Oh my God, Bella, I'm so sorry," Alice whispered next to me.

"What's going on, Alice?" I asked urgently.

"I had a momentary lapse of control when I wrote I loved you. I'm so, so sorry."

Oh no. So this was the reason why Edward dropped those test tubes.

"Don't worry, everyone has those days," I said, brushing Alice's hand with mine.

"I ruined it. I was supposed to protect you. Protect us. I can't believe I-"

"Stop that, Alice," I snapped. "You've done nothing wrong. Now we just have to figure it all out. We have to talk to Edward for starters so that he won't go tell your family."

Alice nodded. "Yes, you're right. After school, in the parking lot, okay?"

"Yeah, we have to do it then," I said, and we had a plan.

And just when I'd thought the day was going well.

Alice's eyes glazed again momentarily. After coming out of it, she said:

"I told Edward to meet us after class. He agreed, but he is furious."

God, what would become of this? I had no clue and when the final bell rang, I was a nervous wreck. Edward walked out of the lab among the first people to leave. Alice and I took our time packing our stuff. When we exited the school building, the others had more or less gone, but we saw Edward leaning against his silver Volvo. Alice took my hand as we got closer.

"I'll protect you," she whispered.

I wasn't too worried about myself. I was terrified of what he'd do to _her._ At least he still claimed to love me, so he probably wouldn't kill me too much. Perhaps just a little bit.

"Hello, Edward," Alice said when we reached the car.

"I have nothing to say to you, Alice," Edward answered icily.

"Well, I have something to say to _you,_ mister! I want you to promise me not to tell the family. We want to do it ourselves. Am I clear?" said Alice.

"If you do it today," he said. "Otherwise I'll do it myself. I have to say I was expecting something like this from you. You've been almost too eager to change her all along. I should've known. After all, you aren't really a part of the family. You just wondered in-"

"Shut the hell up, Edward!" I yelled. I wouldn't let him talk to Alice like that. I knew how important the family was for her, since she didn't remember much of her human family.

Alice had gone immobile next to me, her eyes were staring at Edward and through him. What he'd said had completely disarmed her. I turned to wrap my arms securely around her waist, positioning myself between her and Edward.

"Apologize to her, Edward," I spat, not looking at him, but Alice, trying to make her relax.

"Not after what she did to me."

That made me turn.

"God! What the hell did she do to you? You left me, damn it, and Alice was the only one who came back to make sure I was doing alright! It made me realize I'd loved her all along. You blew your change. Accept the facts," I yelled. I was beyond furious.

"You aren't like that. You loved me," Edward said.

"I loved you both, until you decided to disappear on me."

"Stop arguing," Alice said suddenly in a small voice.

"What?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"We will tell the rest of the family today. I'll pick Bella up to our house when Charlie's asleep. I'm sorry I caused you pain, Edward. I don't want to fight about it, and even less I want the family to be broken apart," Alice said, uttering the words like rehearsed lines.

"Alright, I'll see you then, Bella," Edward said and climbed into his car.

When he rolled away, I turned back to hug Alice.

"What happened to you?" I asked.

"He caught me off guard. I love this family. I know everyone else was changed by Carlisle, except for me and Jasper, but I always thought I belonged there as solidly as the rest," Alice whispered, her voice cracking.

"Oh, Alice. Don't listen to him. He was aiming for your weak spot. That was a total blow below the belt. Come on, let's go. I still have to fix Charlie some food. I'm trying to be a good girl, so he'll let me out more," I said, took her hand and pulled her towards Esme's car.

On the ride home, I never let go of Alice's hand. Tonight, we would come out to her family, and soon it would be time for Charlie to hear it as well. I had to make sure she knew I'd be there through it all. Inside, I was terrified. My heart was pounding, my stomach was full of butterflies, and if my liver had teeth, they'd be clattering. This was going to be a long night.

* * *

><p><strong>Good? Bad? Awesome? Horrible? Any suggestionsconcerns/anything? Please, let me know. Oh, and the best answer for the last comment question of the chapter went for hankthefluuphiwaffle: .net/u/2300984/. Woop woop! The next comment question is: what would've happened if Bella had let Jacob kiss her in New Moon? Include your answer in your review (cuz I know you'll leave me one, cuz I've asked you to! jk, jk) and don't forget to suggest a question for the next comment question! The questions can be pretty much anything, Twilight related, or not. **

**Until next time,**

**Peace, love, Twilight.**

**Luv,**

**AC**


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